An Ann n Anny High School
by lolzwaitwhat
Summary: Based on VampireMeerkat's An Ann n' Anny (Gender bent Ed Edd n' Eddy) (look on: /art/An-Ann-n-Anny-Highschool-275270457 for her character profiles and take a look at her stuff, she's AMAZING! ) and a bit of her Ed Edd n Eddy High School. I saw there was no fan fics of this on this site and I had a good idea for a few stories, so here they are.
1. Bring it An

(This fan-fic is based off of VampireMeerkat's An, Ann n' Anny (the gender bend version of Ed, Edd n' Eddy) 's characters and character designs, check out her stuff on devaintart. If you don't know who's who, leave me a message and I'll explain further for you) (after edit: Thank you Peachy for telling me about the name change for Kevin's female counterpart! It's Karen instead of Claire now, so if you see 'Claire' in here, please let me know!)

The crowd cheered at the football field as the announcer called "And let's give it up for the PEACH CREEK COBBLERS!" half the crowd cheered. A group of girls in cheerleader uniforms come up, shaking their pom poms. One of the girls, a tall big girl with short pink hair, Anny, was whispering through a large fake smile as they shook their pompoms to the two girls on either side of her. Anny used to be the smallest girl in school, but once she hit high school, she had a major growth spurt.

The one on her left was Ann, or Double-N as everyone called her, she was thin and had her long black hair pulled back into a ponytail, she was shivering from the cold that her short, skimpy cheerleader uniform did _not_ protect her from. She wished she had at least been able to wear her hat, but the cheerleading coach strictly forbad it.

To Anny's right was An, who cheerfully shook her pom poms with one of her classic big goofy smiles. Her long red hair was also pulled back (with help from Double-N) and her glasses bounced on her face as An bounced happily to the beat of the marching band. An was a simple, happy girl who loved spending time with her best friends Ann and Anny.

"Okay, so here's the plan." Anny whispered to her two friends, "Once the half time routine is over, we run for the van. Our change of clothes are inside, right Sock head?"

"Freshly washed and ironed." Double-N replied with a smile.

"Why do you guys always try to leave before the end of the game?" Jenny asked them. Her curly dark hair was short to her head, her large round head tilted in confusion, "It's almost as if you don't _want_ to be cheerleaders."

"We don't." Anny informed her.

"Well, then, why don't you just quit?" Jenny asked.

"We can't." Anny groaned.

"You see, Jenny, we didn't become cheerleaders by choice, we became cheerleaders to be incentives for some of the players to do well."

"Oh!" Jenny exclaimed, finally understanding, "You mean…"

The Peach Creek Cobblers tore onto the field, lead by the Team Captain, Nate. His blonde hair and handsome face were hidden by his helmet, and right behind him were the stars of the team…

"Kankers!" An screamed, gearing up to run away, only to be stopped by Karen, the head cheerleader, Karen's long red hair was pulled up in a ponytail, her hat was gone as well and she scowled at the Ans, "Oh no you don't!" she snapped, "Those guys are our best players and tonight we're up against our rival, Lemon Brook High for the Championship! You three are staying!"

"But…!"

"Hiya, girls." All three Ans froze and slowly turned around to see the Kanker Brothers, An and Double-N jumped and hid behind Anny, who was just as terrified of the Kankers as her friends, but hid her fear the best. The other players passed them as the announcer introduced Lemon Brook's football team to the crowd.

"Hiya, Anny." The eldest Kanker, Tee, greeted with an evil smile, his red hair flopped over his eyes and his usual earrings were gone for the game, "How's my big boned babe?"

"Beat it Kanker." Anny snapped, her hands on her hips. Tee's smile only grew, "Feisty as ever, just the way I like." Anny scowled on the outside, but inside she was doing all she could to keep from running away, screaming like when she was a little girl.

"Hiya, Muffin." Larie hissed in Double-N's ear, she quickly turned around and held her pom poms close to her chest, terrified. Larie's shaggy blue hair still covered his left eye, but most of it was up in a ponytail, the silver stud in his tongue gleamed as he licked his lips, looking her up and down. "You look yummy." He purred, putting his face barely an inch from hers. Double-N's body shook like mad, "L-larie! I-I didn't see you there…" she stuttered, slowly backing away. Larie was the biggest pervert in Peach Creek and he couldn't keep his hands off poor Ann, much to her dismay. Larie grabbed her by the waist, "What's the matter?" he asked, as if not knowing the answer, "You know I don't bite, _hard_." Double-N let out a cry and scrambled out of his hands as he laughed at her reaction.

"Hiya, An!" An looked to Jay with a look of pure horror, his blonde hair was as it usually was, pulled back into a ponytail with his long bangs hanging out, his buck teeth weren't as big as they used to be, but his buck toothed smile still made An scream with terror every time she saw him on the football field. Jay was in the same video game club as An, but he never hit on her in there, so she was okay with him if they were alone, but as soon as he reunited with his brothers, he struck fear into her gentle heart. "KANKER!" she cried, "NO KISSES FOR AN!" she tried to make a run for it, but Jay had already grabbed her arm and pulled her back, "How's about the usual good luck kiss?" he asked, grabbing her head and pulling it close.

"NOT GOOD LUCK KISSES!" An shouted, close to tears.

"Oh, yeah." Tee said deviously, "How could we forget our pre-game ritual?" He grabbed Anny as Larie pulled Double-N close. And then, in unison, all three Kankers kissed the three terrified girls on the lips. When they were done, they looked refreshed and ready to go as they rushed out onto the field. The Ans, however, looked as if they had been hit by cars. Double-N looked to Karen, "Now that we've been orally violated, _again_, may we _please_ go home now?" she begged.

"Not until the game's over." Karen repeated, her hands on her hips.

"But when the game's over, then we have to give victory kisses!" An cried, "And Victory kisses are bad for An!"

"Too bad." Karen snapped.

"Come on, Karen, can't you just say we got sick and had to go home?" Anny asked.

"No! It's the championship!"

"But!" the Ans cried in unison, only for Karen to glare angrily, and pointing to the bench where the other cheerleaders sat as the boys warmed up for the game.

.

.

.

The game had been stressful to say the least, since it was the Championship and everyone wanted Peach Creek to win, the Kankers came back for more kisses after each quarter, terrorizing the three Ans. Near the end of the game, the girls were ready to make a run for it, each one had long since reached their limit, they shook violently and looked exhausted.

"Victory Kisses are bad for An." An sobbed into her pom poms.

"K-knowing L-larie, I'll be l-lucky if I s-still have my v-virginity intact by the end of the n-night." Double-N stuttered fearfully, hugging herself.

"The game's almost over, the moment it ends, we're _done,_ Karen." Anny declared, "We've been tortured enough. We want to go _home_." Karen looked at the three of them and realized that Anny was right, they had definitely had gone above and beyond what they could handle and that they needed to go home.

"Fine, the moment the game ends, you can go home." The Ans looked at each other happily and hugged each other, the nightmare was almost over, they could go home!

"And it looks like we're going into overtime folks!" The announcer cried. The An's jaws dropped, suddenly they heard a whistle, they turned slowly and tearfully at the Kanker Brothers.

"You heard 'um, ladies," Tee called, "We're going into overtime." The girls cowered as the boys slowly approached, then Rachel stepped in front of the Ans, "The Daughter of a Shepherd has seen enough!" she declared. Her blue hair was pulled back into a ponytail and her jaw was set in anger, "The Slobber-Covered-An Girls have had enough abuse from your jaws, win the game before I give you a Three shoe beating!" The Kankers froze, Rachel was an easy-going girl, but she could be just as dangerous as they were when angered.

"Fine." Tee said, "See you after the game, girls." He said with a grin. "For our victory kisses." Then the three of them walked back onto the field.

"Thank you, Rachel." Double-N said, "I don't think we could handle anymore."

"No need to thank Rachel," she said, then glaring darkly at the Kankers, "The Pucker-Fish-Faced Kanker Boys are milking it, yes?" The Ans nodded, shaking.

"Karen, I think they should go home." Jenny said, "I mean, look at them, what high school football championship is worth their sanity?"

Karen sighed, "Okay, they can go home." The Ans jumped for joy. Karen, Rachel and Jenny walked them to their van.

"NO VICTORY KISSES FOR AN!" An cheered as they entered the parking lot. Suddenly a loud cheer came from the crowd.

"PEACH CREEK WINS! PEACH CREEK WINS THE CHAMPIONSHIPS!" The Ans look at each other and they rush to the van, but just as they reach it, the Kankers quickly catch up.

"Where you three going?" Jay asked An.

"You weren't leaving before we got our victory kisses, were you?" Tee asked, grabbing Anny and giving her a long French kiss, playing with her tongue in ways she never wanted him too. Jay kisses An hard on the lips, An tries to push him away but she's too exhausted from all the kisses from earlier. Double-N fearfully looks at her friends, then Larie trips her, sending her to fall backwards into his arms. As soon as she sees him, she quickly covers her mouth with both hands. "Well aren't you clever?" Larie purrs, then gently kisses her forehead, but Double-N's eyes suddenly widen, horrified as Larie begins to smile.

.

.

.

By the time Nate, Karen, Jenny and Rachel get to the An's van, the Kankers strut passed them, smiling and looking quite pleased with themselves.

"Are you girls okay?" Nate cries. The three girls slowly walk along the outside of the van where the others are, Anny's trying to untangle her tongue, An's sobbing hysterically and Double-N is shaking violently, hugging herself and her eyes were twitching.

"What happened to you three?" Jenny asks, horrified.

"Wha do ou think?" Anny managed, indicating her tied up tongue. "Tha ath hole tid up my tongue."

"An got victory kisses." An sobbed, "So many kisses!"

Double-N said nothing, still shaking.

"Where did Larie kiss you, Double-N?" Karen asked her. Double-N slowly pointed her shaking finger to her forehead.

"That's it?" Rachel asked. Double-N shook her head then shakily pointed to Larie, who was waving a bra in the air, cheering, "H-he s-somehow got my b-bra." She said, horrified, "I-I have no idea h-_how, _but he d-did." The four teens looked at one another, then they rounded the Ans into their van and Jenny and Rachel hopped in the front seat and drove them home while Nate and Karen drove behind them in their own cars.

.

.

.

The other Peach Creek Cobblers lifted the Kankers up onto their shoulders and cheered. The players from Lemon Brook looked pretty pissed off, one of them called out to the Kankers, "You may have beaten us, but at least our girls are hot!" The whole field went silent. While the Ans were admittably not the prettiest girls in the world, there was nothing that pissed the Kanker Brothers off more then when they heard someone insulting their girls. (Except when someone insulted one of them or stole their ship-in-a-bottle) The team quickly put them down and backed away from them, while everyone else from Peach Creek quickly retreated to the corner farthest from the fuming brothers.

"What the fuck did you just say?" Larie demanded darkly, Double-N's bra clutched in his hand.

"You heard him," another player called, "Your girls are FUGLY!" the Lemon Brook team burst out laughing, but every Peach Creek native knew, when someone pissed off the Kanker Brothers, you got the fuck out of their way, soon the only people from Peach Creek left were the Kankers.

"I think these jack offs have a death wish, Tee." Jay growled, his face twitching with fury.

"I think you're right, Jay." Tee replied, grinding his teeth and clenching his fists, "Why don't we show these boys why they shouldn't say shit like that about our girls?" he asked his brothers, who suddenly resembled smiling demons.

.

.

.

The next day at Peach Creek High; An, Ann, and Anny are sitting at their lunch table, still recovering from the night before. An wore her off the shoulder green blouse, a pair of jeans, her glasses and her red hair flopped freely down to her shoulders. An was poking at her lunch, her eyes red and swollen from crying all night. Ann wore her black ski cap, a red turtle neck, a long purple skirt and her long black hair cascaded down her back as she hunched over sheets of paper, her eyes red from no sleep, trying to figure something out but having no luck. Anny wore her usual yellow tank top and jeans, her pink hair in its usual style and was holding an open notebook and a pen.

"I'm so glad that the season's over." Anny wrote in her notebook and showed her friends, "My tongue's still swollen from last night." An's eyes were so swollen from her excessive crying after the game that she could hardly see anything, so Ann read Anny's message to her.

"Hey Ans!" The girls jumped, but were relieved to see Nate, Karen, Rachel and Jenny instead of the Kankers.

"How are you three feeling?" Jenny asked as they sat down. Anny showed them her last written statement then wrote, "Lumpy's eyes are so swollen from crying that she can't see, with or without her glasses, so Double-N's been reading to her all day."

"What is the Double-N-An girl doing?" Rachel asked, indicating the papers.

"I'm trying to figure out how Larie managed to take my bra off last night so I can find a way to counter it." Double-N replied.

"But then couldn't he just take your underwear from under your skirt if he couldn't get your bra?" Karen asked, Nate elbowed her, "Ow! What?" Double-N dropped her pencil, "Oh dear, I hadn't even thought about that!" she cried, then held her head in her hands.

"Hiya, girls." An freaked out and looked around in all directions to see where the Kankers were, but because her eyes were swollen, she couldn't see them. Jay walked up to her and said, "Hiya, An!" Jay wore his usual gray t-shirt and red shorts with his long white socks and black shoes. Larie wore his normal baggy brown jacket over his black t-shirt and wore baggy jeans and his normal shoes. He flashed the silver stud in his tongue at Double-N. Tee wore a red polka-dot shirt with the sleeves torn off and jeans with his normal shoes, his earrings were back in his ears, he winked at Anny. An freaked out and slipped off her seat and fell onto the floor. A couple people laughed but were silenced by the Kankers' angry glares.

"You okay, An?" Jay asked, going down to help but An panicked at his touch, screaming, "ANNY! DOUBLE-N!" Ann grabbed her flailing hands, "An! It's okay! It's me!" she told her, An began to cry again, "Double-N!" she sobbed, hugging Ann. Double-N gently patted her friend's back, "It's okay An, Anny and I are both here." She soothed. Anny stood up, writing furiously into her notebook and shoving it into Jay's face.

"Huh?" he said, confused by the notebook.

"Anny's tongue is still swollen from last night." Double-N explained, shooting an angry look at Tee, "So she's been writing what she wants to say. Jenny, if you would please, I have my hands full at the moment."

"Sure." Said Jenny, taking the notebook from Anny and making a face like Anny as she read, "THAT'S IT! WE'VE HAD IT WITH YOU KANKERS! LAST NIGHT WAS THE LAST FUCKING STRAW! ALL YOU GUYS DO IS MESS WITH US AND WE'RE TIRED OF IT! AN'S EYES ARE SWOLLEN FROM CRYING ALL NIGHT! DOUBLE-N WAS TRAMATIZED AFTER YOU STOLE HER BRA! AND I CAN'T TALK BECAUSE MY TONGUE IS SORE FROM HAVING TO FUCKING UNTIE IT FROM THE STUPID KNOT YOU TIED IT IN! JUST DO US A FAVOR AND LEAVE US THE FUCK ALONE!" Jenny looked at Anny, "How was that?" Anny nodded but pointed to a part of the paper, Jenny looked over it and said, "I'm not saying that." Anny rolled her eyes and wrote something down and Jenny read, "We're leaving, come on girls, let's go!" With that, Anny and Jenny helped An and Ann off the floor. And the three Ans left in a huff.

"Come on, girls…" Tee said sadly. Ann came back in a huff, "Hey, Muffin…" Larie began, smiling, thinking his girl had come back for him, but she stopped him with a glare and jabbed at Larie with her finger, "I want my bra back!" she snapped.

"Uh, I didn't bring it today, I'll have it back to you in a few days… to have it cleaned up" he said, a guilty grin on his face.

"Cleaned up?" Double-N repeated, confused, "Why would you need to…" her eyes widened with comprehension, "OH GOOD LORD!" she cried, disgusted, she then dashed away from him, repulsed by his words and actions.

"What was that all about?" Tee asked.

"You can't be serious." Nate said, "Dudes, you guys were out of control last night."

"Yeah, I know, we kicked Lemon Brook's ass!" Tee said proudly.

"I meant you guys were out of control with the Ans." Nate clarified, "I mean, dudes, you kinda over did it with kissing them every time we had a short break."

"Especially since they don't even want to be there." Karen added, "The only reason they're on the squad is because the principal wanted to win the Championship and he knew the only way to do that is to have the Ans there in cheerleading uniforms to cheer you guys on so you would play." The Kankers look guilty and start rubbing the back of their heads. "Oh man." Jay said, "We really messed up, huh?"

"Yeah." Nate said, "But if you want, we could help you guys earn back their tolerance."

"Tolerance?" The Kankers asked in unison.

"We could?" Karen, Rachel and Jenny asked in unison.

"Yeah." Nate said with a smile, "We help curb some of that wildness you three have and maybe they might kind of forgive you."

"Oh boy." Karen sighed, "This is going to be a long day."

.

.

.

Later, we see Rachel and Nate with Larie, with Ann at her locker past them, swapping out books for her next few classes.

"Okay, Larie, how about you start small… Why don't you go over there and offer to help her carry some of those books to her next class?"

"Then can I…" but before he can finish, Rachel covers his mouth, "No." Nate said as Double-N closes her locker with a SLAM and starts walking to her next class.

"Just help her with her books, and apologizing for taking her bra, nothing else."

Larie nods and Rachel moves her hand.

"Now, go!" Nate says, pushing him towards her. Larie ends up knocking into her, making her drop her books.

"L-larie!" Double-N cries, terrified, but she quickly steels herself, "I'll kindly ask you to watch where you're going next time." She says sternly, kneeling down to get them, Larie sees her do this and then kneels down beside her and starts helping her pick them up, "Sorry. I'll try to be more careful." He said softly, catching her by surprise. She sighs, "It's fine, thank you for your help." She said as they stood.

"And I'm sorry about the bra thing." He said, rubbing the back of his head, "I was out of line." Ann seems to soften a bit, "You were, but I appreciate the apology, Larie. I'm sorry for snapping at you." She said.

"Um, need some help carrying these?" he asked her, she gave him a small smile, "That would be very nice, thank you Larie." She said.

"Yes!" Nate and Rachel high-five, Nate was glad they started with Double-N, she was the most forgiving person he knew, and surely she could forgive even a pervert like Larie if he acted like a gentleman. Larie manages to walk her to her classroom without any incidents and places her books at her desk.

"Thank you for your help, Larie." Double-N said. He rubbed the back of his head, "Yeah, well it's the least I could do after how I've treated you. Would it be alright if we started over?" he asked, holding out his hand. Ann looks at it for a second, her kind, forgiving nature debating with her logical, analytical instincts. Then she takes it, "I guess so…" she said, but was quickly pulled into a hug, which she seems okay with at first, then her eyes get wide. Larie looks down at his hand, which has Ann's underwear in it. She pushes him away, angry, seeing her underwear in his hands makes her eyes swell up with tears as the other teens laugh.

"I'm so sorry, Double-N! I didn't mean it!" He cried, his hands up in surrender. Double-N then _slaps_ him in the _face_, then snatches her underwear from his hands and runs crying past Nate and Rachel, who are in the doorway, and towards the bathroom.

"Never has Rachel seen the Gentle-as-a-Lamb An girl harm someone."

"Yeah well, she probably never felt so embarrassed and hurt before." Nate said, glaring at Larie, "What the hell, dude?"

"I'm sorry, it's just, she was being so _cute_, I guess couldn't _help_ it." he said, wincing at he went to touch his reddening cheek, "Also, is it weird that it kind of turned me on when she slapped me?"

"Yes." Said Nate and Rachel, taking a step back. Nate looks at Rachel and asks, "Would you mind helping Double-N while I try to help Tee with Anny?"

Rachel nodded, "Leave the Underwearless-An girl to me, Overly-Optimistic-Nate boy."

.

.

.

Karen, Nate and Tee are looking into a science classroom where Anny is writing down what looks like notes.

"Alright, Tee, just apologize to Anny for hurting her tongue and how you acted at the game, then leave, don't stay around to chat and please, dude, don't argue with her like you always do."

"Got it." Tee said.

"Also don't take her underwear." Karen giggled, Nate elbowed her, "Ow! What?"

"That's not funny." Nate scolded, "Double-N was really upset. Anyway," he said, looking at Tee, "Remember, apologize to Anny about her tongue and how you acted then leave. No arguing!"

"I got it, I got it." Tee said, shoving his hands into his pockets and walking into the classroom. "Hiya, Anny." Anny jumped at the sound of his voice then glared at him darkly, over her shoulder you can see a drawing of Anny laughing with the Kankers tied to a rocket that was blasting off. Tee sees the drawing and said, "I guess you're still pissed, huh?" She nods and turns her back on him, flipping to a blank page in her notebook.

"Look, I'm sorry about how I acted last night." He said awkwardly, "And I'm sorry about your tongue."

Anny scribbled, "Sorry? You're sorry?" She showed him the page, then revealed her tongue, which was swollen and purple. Tee fell over at the sight at it, "Holy…!" he covered his mouth to stop himself from saying anymore. Anny angrily wrote more, "Sorry will not make the swelling go down or make me forgive you for all the years of shit you shoveled on me and my friends. Now get the fuck out!" Tee looked kinda pissed, but he said "fine." Then he pulled himself up off the floor and stood there, shaking. Anny sees him still standing there and makes a face, she writes something down and tears a piece of the paper out and balls it up and tosses it to him, "That means leave, dipshit." He bites his lip and leaves with the note crushed in his fist, he looks pissed.

"Hey, there you go, you're one step closer…" Nate says as Tee passes. Tee flips him the bird and smashes a locker with his fist.

"Well that went well." Karen said sarcastically.

"We still have Jay and An…"

"Forget it, Nate. If Double-N, one of the most forgiving people on the planet and Anny, one of the most stubborn, can't forgive them a tiny bit then what makes you think that An, who's scared shitless of the Kanker brothers, will?"

"Because they're in the same club every week and An comes out just fine." Nate said.

.

.

.

Nate, Jay and Jenny are just outside the video game club room, watching An try to put an old video game in a console with a look of serious concentration on her face, but she kept missing since she still couldn't see and saying, "Nope" every time she missed.

"Remember Jay, just say sorry about making her cry. That's it." Nate said.

"Nope." Said An.

"You do realize that I come here and talk to An every week without any problems, right?" Jay replied plainly, walking into the room, with Nate and Jenny right behind him.

"Nope." Said An.

"Hiya, An." He said softly. An jumps at the sound, "Jay?" she asked nervously, "Your brothers aren't there too, are they?"

"Nah, Nate and Jenny came with me." He explained. Both Nate and Jenny said hi.

An smiled widely, "Hi guys! Did you come to join the Video Game Club?"

"Uh, we're just checking it out today." Nate told her.

"Okay, I'll get the game in." she said cheerfully, going back to trying to get the game in.

"Nope."

Jenny took it from her, "I'll get it for you, An, you just sit back and relax." She said.

"Thanks Jenny." She said, facing Nate.

"Jenny's over there." Nate told her.

"Where?" An asked, turning to either side, trying to find her. "Marco!" she called happily.

"Polo!" Jenny said excitedly, pushing the game into the console. Nate scowled at her, "Jenny!"

"What? I like Marco Polo." She said.

"Why don't you start up the game, I'll help. Hey An," he said, putting her next to Jay, "Why don't you stay here while we get things started?"

"Okay!" she said, blissfully unaware that Jay was right next to her.

"Um, hey An." He said. An stopped and turned in his direction, "Jay?"

"Yeah, um, I'm sorry I made you cry last night." An pouted, "I said I didn't want kisses and you kissed me anyway."

"Yeah, I'm sorry about that." He said, she turned away from his voice with a 'hmph!' "Could I ask you a question?" She still refused to turn to him, and she was still pouting, but she nodded.

"How come you're so scared of me when I'm with my brothers, but when it's just us you're fine?"

An turned to him, serious, and tilted her head, "When it's just us here, you're nice." She said plainly, "you give An her space and talk to me normally, but when your out there," she pointed to a potted plant, "You're scary, always hunting and kissing for me and Anny and Double-N, you don't want to hang out and talk and play with me and my friends, you just want to get me." Jay absorbed her words as Jenny called her over to play, but since An still couldn't see, she and Jenny began playing Marco Polo again. Nate faced-palmed at them.

.

.

.

Later after Video Game club, Anny and Ann were waiting outside the school to pick An up from her club to take her to Anny's house so Ann could help them with their homework. Tee and Larie came out of Detention while they waited. Tee got Detention for breaking the locker and Larie got detention for taking Ann's underwear off in front of the entire class. Ann sat in the driver's seat while Anny sat in the passenger's seat beside her.

Larie walked around to the driver's side and tapped on the window. Ann hesitated but she finally rolled down the window.

"I'll pay for a new bra, tell me how much it is and I'll give you the money for it." he whispered, slipping her a piece of paper with his phone number on it, "Since I'm gonna guess you won't want the one I took last night…"

"Yes…" she said stopping him, and slipping it into the pocket of her skirt, "Thank you, Larie, I'll let you know as soon as I find out."

"I really am sorry, Ann." He said, walking away. Anny wrote "Bullshit" and showed it to Ann, "Anny, language!" she scolded. Anny then crossed it out and wrote "Liar." Ann nodded, "Better."

Jenny led An out of the school and Nate walked out with Jay.

"Here you go, An!" Jenny said, letting her into the back of the van, "See you tomorrow, and I'm looking forward to next week!" She said, cheerfully.

"Bye Jenny!" An said, waving the wrong way. Anny wrote, "You're facing the wrong way, Lumpy." Which Double-N translated into, "Wrong way, An."

"Oh." She turned around to another wrong direction and said, "Bye Jenny."

The other Ans sighed and Jenny closed the back, smiling, Double-N pulled the van out of park and drove to Anny's house saying, "Anny, An, I believe I might have a solution to your swelling problems. Once we get to Anny's house, I'll help you two get back to normal and then I'll help you with your homework, okay?"

They both nodded.

The Lemon Brook football field watched as the Ans drove away, they were covered in casts and bandages from their tussle with the Kanker Brothers.

"So those are their girls?" one asked.

"They're the same cheerleaders they were making out with last night." Another confirmed.

"What the fuck do those three see in them?"

"Who are you talking about, the girls or the Kankers?" A few guys chuckled.

"So what's the plan again?" another guy asked. Everyone punched that guy.

"Ow! What was that for?"

"It's fine, guys," the largest one said, he was the Quarterback, Eric. He looked to his team and told the confused one, "Troy, the plan is that we take their girls and hold them hostage, then show those Kankers what happens when you mess with Lemon Brook." The other guys nodded and snickered.

.

.

.

Anny and An pulled the ice off their eyes and tongue, "Wow." Anny said, "It _does_ feel better. And it feels good to talk again."

"AN CAN SEE ONCE MORE!" An announced happily.

"So, Sock head, what is this I heard about you slapping Larie Kanker in the face?" Anny asked deviously as Double-N empties the bags of ice into Anny's bathroom. An looked at Double-N, shocked that she would actually harm another person. Double-N sighed and walked back in, trying to stay calm.

"He seemed sincere in his apology to me and he seemed to honestly want to make amends, he even helped me carry my books to class without smacking my butt." The other Ans nodded, urging her to go on, "Then he held out his hand in what I thought was a gesture of friendship, then he pulls me into a hug and somehow takes off my underwear!" she fumed, "And then he has the nerve to say that he didn't _mean_ to?" she went on, "I ask you, how does one remove another person's under garments without _making a conscious decision to do so_?" she demanded. "So yes, I did slap him, and although he _did_ deserve it, I still feel _terrible_ about it."

"Why would you feel bad about it?" Anny asked her, "It sounds like he got what was coming to him!"

"Maybe so, but I still shouldn't have struck him." She said, "His vile behavior does not give me an excuse to do something equally bad."

"He took your underwear off in front of everyone, a slap is nothing compared to that." Anny defended, patting her on the back.

"Are you okay, Double-N?" An asked her, holding her hands. "Yes, An, I'm okay now." Double-N said, patting her on the head. "Okay, let's get into this math homework." She said.

"Aww!" Anny and An moaned. "Hey, I'm helping you with it, so it'll get done faster then normal and we can do something fun." Double-N reminded them.

The three girls dive into their homework while the Lemon Brook football team arrive at Anny's house.

"So the answer is x equals twelve?" Anny asked. Double-N looks over Anny's work, "Good job Anny! An, how do you fair?" An handed Double-N her homework, Double-N frowns and looks to her jolly friend.

"An, the answer to question number one is not zero."

"That's not a zero, Double-N." An informed her, "It's an egg." She said with a big grin.

"An egg?" Double-N repeated, "An egg is not the answer to number one either, An." An frowned and scratched her head with her pencil then drew a line in front of the egg. "A line and an egg!" An exclaimed. Since the answer to question was ten, and Double-N and Anny knew that, Double-N relented and said, "Very good, An, the answer _is_ a line and an egg." She said in a motherly tone. Anny cracked up and said, "Wow, Lumpy, you're _good_, it took me _forever_ to figure out the answer was _a line and an egg_." An smiled proudly.

Then the sound of a door smashing open made all three girls jump.

"What was that?" Anny asked, fear obvious in her voice. Anny's bedroom door smashed open to the Lemon Brook football team. All three girls screamed as the men burst into Anny's room.

"Are you three the Kanker Brothers' girlfriends?" one asked. The Ans looked at one another and started to laugh. The football players looked confused and looked at each other.

"Us?" Anny laughed, "The Kanker's girlfriends?" she then fell onto the ground laughing. An was laughing so hard that she was crying. Even Double-N was laughing, although she was trying to stifle it with her hands, "I'm terribly sorry, gentlemen, but I believe you have been misinformed." She said through chuckles.

"Huh?" the team said in unison.

"We're not their girlfriends." Anny said, "We're their victims!"

"What?"

"We were forced into becoming cheerleaders so they would play, they wanted us to cheer for them in those skimpy uniforms." Double-N explained.

The team stared at the giggling girls, confused on what to do. "This changes nothing." The largest guy said, the Ans stopped laughing and looked at him, "We can still use them to lure them into a trap, and since they haven't gotten any yet…" He said, "We can have some fun with them too." All three Ans looked at each other and ran towards the door outside from Anny's room, one of them grabbed Double-N by her long hair and yanked her back. "AN! ANNY!" She screamed, reaching out for her friends as they pressed a handkerchief to her mouth and nose, after a few seconds, Double-N's eyes closed and she collapsed onto the ground.

"DOUBLE-N!" An and Anny cried, dashing back to help their friend, but only to get the same handkerchiefs shoved over their faces and for them to fall into darkness.

.

.

.

Later that night, the Kanker boys were sitting in front of the TV, but none of them were really watching it.

"You think they'll ever forgive us?" Larie finally asked his brothers.

"I dunno." Tee said.

Suddenly the phone rang, Jay got it, "Hello?"

"You might want to put this on speaker, Kanker." A deep voice said. Jay motioned for his brothers to come and pressed the speaker button, "Is it on?" the voice asked.

"Yeah." Jay said.

"Good. We have your girlfriends. Meet us at the Peach Creek football field at dawn or else the girls get it." The voice said before hanging up. The brothers looked at each other and ran out to their pick-up.

When they arrived in the cul-de-sac, they couldn't believe what they saw, there were police cars everywhere and Anny's house had a huge hole where the front door used to be, a police officer holds up Ann's hat and An's glasses, both of which are in evidence bags for the girls' parents to see, their mothers are crying into their fathers' arms.

"An said that Double-N was going to help her and Anny with their homework at Anny's house today." Jay informed his brothers, shocked and terrified for their safety.

"So, where are they now?" Larie asked.

"I dunno, but we're the only ones who can help them now." Tee said.

.

.

.

Ann woke up with her hands bound behind her and her mouth gagged, her legs, surprisingly were not tied up. She felt dizzy and she took a good look around the room. It was dank and dark, but that was fine, her head hurt and bright lights would probably make it worse. She managed to pull herself into a sitting position, the sound of a train crossing the tracks made her jump. She closed her eyes and worked to recall what happened. She then looked around for An and Anny, she saw their passed out silhouettes, she scooted herself towards them with her feet, since she couldn't find a wall to lean against so she couldn't stand and it would be difficult to crawl with her hands tied behind her back. She made it to where they were, she checked their pulses, which were normal, thank God. She then tried to wake them by nudging them with her hands and feet, but they were down for the count.

The sound of a turning door knob made her jump, but before she could do anything else, she was blinded by a bright light.

"Looks like one's up." A deep voice said, she felt something grab her hair and pull her up with it, she let out a cry of pain as she rose into the air, but it was muffled by the gag. Laughter could be heard from in the light. Ann squinted to see what was so bright, but she was quickly brought eye to eye with the large guy from Anny's house.

"Hello, cutie, do you have your boyfriend's cell number? We're trying to call them but their not home." Ann struggled against his grip and tried to say something along the lines that she would never help a bunch of brainless buffoons like them, but her words were muddled by the gag to sound like random sounds. The big guy shook her violently, she screamed as he laughed at her pitiful state, the slip of paper Larie gave her earlier slipped from her pocket and fluttered to the floor. She tried to kick him, hoping his grip would lessen so she could grab it, however, her lack of strength made him laugh instead. He noticed the paper, "Why thank you, cutie." He said, putting his face way too close to hers. "I'd bet you'd like to speak to your boyfriend, huh?" Then an idea hit her, she nodded wildly.

"Hang on a sec, I'll call him up for you." he said, he called a guy named Troy to pick up the paper (to which he replied, "Yes Eric,") so he could type in the number with his cell in his free hand while he held the struggling Double-N in the air by her hair. He waited for the phone to connect.

"Hello?" It was Larie.

"Hello, put me on speaker." He said, then pressed the speaker button on his own phone.

"You're on." He said.

"Larie, your girlfriend would like say something to you, but she's a little tied up at the moment." He teased. Double-N rolled her eyes at that one.

"If you hurt Double-N, I swear I'll…" Even Double-N was frightened by the tone of his voice.

"Hang on a sec, she's still got the gag on, Troy, if you would please…" Troy obliged. The moment the gag was off, Double-N screamed, "WE'RE IN THE ELECTRICAL ROOM BEHIND THE BLEACHERS AT LEMON BROOK HIGH!" her words slowly woke her friends on the floor. Eric ended the call as soon as she finished screaming as Larie was saying "Nice one…"

"How do you know…"

"The train." She said with a smile, "Lemon Brook High's the closest place with any kind of train tracks, and since there was no furniture, I just assumed it was an electrical room." Eric roared and swung her around, banging her against walls and anything he could. Double-N screamed as he did, fully waking her friends to find her being swung by her hair by the psycho who grabbed them. Luckily where Double-N lacked in the strength department, An and Anny were always happy to lend her a hand, or in this case, a foot. Both girls kicked the guys feet from under them, Eric dropped Double-N and his phone, Double-N grabbed the phone and landed hard against the ground, as soon as the guys fell, both An and Anny then slammed their heels down towards the boys' heads, but the boys managed to dodge, An and Anny both still made huge dents in the floor. The guys fled back into the light and slammed the door behind them just as An and Anny sat up. An and Anny helped each other with their gags.

"Are you alright, Double-N?" An asked.

"Yeah," she moaned, "just got the wind knocked out of me." She said, "And possibly cracked my ribcage… Ow…"

"Where are we?" Anny asked.

"Electrical Room behind the bleachers at Lemon Brook High." Double-N replied, "Help is already on the way, but I'm calling the police, too." She began dialing with her friend's help directing her fingers.

"Help's on the way, who is it?" Anny asked.

"The ones who got us into this mess in the first place."

.

.

.

The pick up was speeding on the highway, Tee was driving like a mad man with his foot flat on the gas, "And you're sure she said Lemon Brook High, right?"

"This is Double-N we're talking about." Larie replied, "since when does she make mistakes?" Jay nodded in agreement. Larie's phone rang again, "Hello?"

"Hiya, Larie." Double-N managed, she sounded weak and in pain.

"Are you okay?" he asked, both happy to hear from her and freaking out if she was okay or not.

"I'm okay, but we won't be for long if this door doesn't hold, An and Anny are strong but I doubt we can keep this up."

"What are you talking about?"

"Right after that guy ended the call, An and Anny woke up and helped get him and his goon out, but they brought more with them and…" her voice cracked into a sob "I'm really scared of what they're going to do to us."

"What do you mean, 'do to you?'" As Larie listened to her on the phone, his face turned red with rage as she explained, "Are you saying that before we'd be able to get to you that they were going to…?"

"Yeah." She said. "I think if they get through that door, that's probably what they're going to do."

"Stay on the line, okay?" he ordered, putting her on speaker so his brothers could hear.

"I'm putting you on speaker." She said, there was a pause, then Double-N said, "I've called the police but they won't get here in time."

"It's a fighter, Double-N!" An cried.

"You're doing great, An, keep it up. You too, Anny." Double-N said.

"Hmph, tell me something I don't know." Anny replied smugly.

Suddenly there was a sound of breaking wood and screams and Anny shouting "Oh FUCK!"

"Double-N?" Larie cried into the phone, "Double-N? ANN, ARE YOU THERE?"

"Oh, she's here alright." The deep voice said, Double-N's pained cry could be heard from the phone, "But she's a little busy right now, as are her friends." Anny was swearing at him black and blue and An was crying. "You see, they're going to keep us… _company_ until you get here."

"NO!" Jay and Larie shouted into the phone, but the line was dead.

"No worries, boys." Tee said, finally putting on the breaks, "We're here."

.

.

.

Somebody grabbed Double-N by her still tied wrists and dragged her out of the electrical room where three gymnastic mats were laid out on the floor.

"NO!" she screamed as the mats came closer and closer. An and Anny were also being dragged and screaming, only there were more people dragging Anny out then her or An.

"You girls have better been worth all this trouble." Eric warned them as the girls were thrown onto the mats, screaming for help. Kicking and biting to get free, all three Ans felt as rough hands forced their flaring limbs down on to the mats.

Double-N felt someone grab her underwear and start pulling it down. 'Not again.' She thought, tears flowing down her face as she closed her eyes shut.

"Hey." Her eyes snapped open at the voice, the guy holding her down looked up to see Larie Kanker, looking scarier then Double-N _ever_ wanted to see him.

"The only guy who can take off her panties is _me_." He growled, punching the guy clear across the room, he then pulled a pocket knife out of his jacket pocket and freed her wrists, "You okay?" He asked her. Double-N's lip quivered and she pulled him into a hug, sobbing into his chest, Larie was surprised at first but he quickly hugged her back, "Does this make up for the underwear thing?" She nodded. "And the bra thing?" he asked hopefully. "Don't push it." Double-N managed.

Jay kicked the guy on An across the room, making him crash into the wall, then bit through her restraints. An hugged him too, crying like a baby, "VICTORY KISSES ARE BAD FOR AN, BUT MATS ARE WORSE FOR AN AND HER FRIENDS!" she declared. Jay held her close, "We know An, we know. But you and your friends are safe now, everything's going to be okay."

Tee grabbed both guys on Anny and _threw_ them _into _the ground on either side. He then pulled out his own knife and cut her free too. "Thanks, Tee." Anny said, trying to pull herself together as tears still rolled down her cheeks. Tee smiled and helped her up to her feet, "Anything I can do to make you feel better?" he asked. Anny nodded and pointed to the rest of the team, "Kick their asses." She said. A dark, cruel smile crawled up his cheeks, "I think that can be arranged, right boys?" Larie and Jay helped their Ans up and took them to Anny, the girls embraced in teary relief that they were all okay while the Lemon Brook players cowered in fear of the demon shaped shadows of the Kanker brothers.

"So you morons thought that you could not only take our girls but you thought you could try to _rape_ them?" Tee asked.

"I bet they thought they could get away with it too," Larie said.

"I say we get payback!" Jay cheered, "What say you girls?" All three Ans nodded.

"Well you heard the ladies," Tee jeered, "It's time for some payback." The team screams as they're overcome by shadows.

.

.

.

Later, all three Ans have blankets wrapped around them with the Kanker brothers loading them up in their pick-up to take them home, as police officers arrest the brutally beaten football players into twenty flashing squad cars.

Tee and Anny had the front seat, Larie and Ann had the back and Jay and An sat in the truck bed.

"Uh, Thanks, Tee, for saving us and all…" Anny said, looking out the window to avoid eye contact, her face was red with embarrassment, "Even though we wouldn't have been in danger in the first place if you guys had just…"

"They called you and your friends fugly." He interrupted.

"Just beat them until they were in body casts." Anny altered. Tee smiled, "I'll keep that in mind." He said.

"Good, cause if a bunch of assholes want to try and rape us again for something you three did…" Tee grabbed her hand, "What happened tonight will not happen again" he assured her. Anny pouted and said nothing, but let him keep holding her hand for the rest of the way home.

.

"So you got their blood on my bra, that's why you needed to get it cleaned?" Double-N clarified from the backseat besides Larie.

"Yeah, so am I forgiven for the bra?" Larie asked.

"No!" she said, "I don't want a bra that has been tainted with blood! Who knows what kind of diseases they could carry! Especially the blood of those… of those…" she stopped, searching her enormous vocabulary for the right word.

"How about sick bastards?" Larie offered.

"Exactly!" she agreed. They were quiet for a second then Larie leaned over and asked, "So, what exactly _did_ you think I got on it?" Double-N's face went red, she was quiet for a moment, then said, "Hey Larie, how about I not tell you what I thought you got on it and you can pick a bra for me from Victoria's Secret?" Larie smiled widely, "I like the way you think." He said, pulling her close and kissing the top of her head.

.

"So are you still scared of me, An?" Jay asked her over the wind in the back of the truck. He had his arm around her, keeping her warm, and An put her blanket around them both as well. An thought about it, "I dunno." She admitted, "But I'm not scared of you now." She gave him a kiss on the cheek, "Thank you, Jay." Jay's face flushed and steam came out of his ears. An laughed and clapped her hands.


	2. Shakespeare-An

(Edit note: Thanks again Peachy for the update about the name change from Claire to Karen, if I missed one please let me know.)

The Ans are waiting in the school theater, getting ready for try-outs to the school play, 'A Midsummer's Night's Dream.'

"So what's this thing about again?" Anny asked Double-N, who is trying to pull An's script out of her mouth, she finally yanks it free and shakes it, disgusted and replies, "A Midsummer's Dream is a romantic comedy written by William Shakespeare…"

"Short version, Sock head." Anny interrupts.

Double-N sighed, as An squints through her glasses at the open pages of her script, turning it diagonally, still looking confused, "Very well, Anny. It's about a boy and girl who love each other, but the girl's father has already promised her to another suitor, so she runs away with him to be married, but not before telling her best friend, who is in love with the one she does not want to marry. So the four of them run off together into the forest and then some fairies come in with magic to create some comedic chaos, but in the end, the girls get the man they want."

An smiled at the mention of fairies and lowered her script, "I want to be a fairy!" she said excitedly.

"Right, right." Anny said, admiring her fingernails, bored, "So why are we here again?"

"It was _your_ idea to try out for the play, Anny!" Double-N reminded her, a little annoyed, "You said that it would be fantastic practice for when you're a big actress some day and you wanted us to try out with you!"

"Oh yeah." Anny recalled, "I did, didn't I?" The director calls Anny's name, she straightens and snatches up her script, "If you'll excuse me ladies," she said, "I have an acting career to start." She then struts up to the stage while Double-N shakes her head and An begins flapping her arms, jumping up and down, laughing, "I am a beautiful fairy." She said.

Anny walks up and is instructed to read lines from a certain scene. She begins,

"I know a bank where the wild thyme blows,  
Where oxlips and the nodding violet grows,  
Quite over-canopied with luscious woodbine,  
With sweet musk-roses and with eglantine." She squinted at the passage and muttered, "What the hell is this crap?"

Double-N face palmed while An looked confused and asked "What was she saying mean, Double-N?"

"She was describing a setting, An." Double-N explained then sighed, "It's a shame people don't talk like that anymore, the language is so poetic."

"Hiya, girls." An and Double-N turn to see Jay and Larie Kanker smiling at them. Both Ans shrink back in terror as the boys slip into the seats beside them.

"A-ah, J-Jay, L-Larie, a-are you b-both trying out for the p-play too?" Double-N managed, her voice an octave higher then normal. An climbed over her seat and hid behind her and peaked over Double-N's shoulder, shaking fearfully.

"Yeah, the drama teacher is makin' all three of us try out since there aren't enough guys trying out for parts." Jay explained cheerfully.

"We thought it was gonna suck, but since you three are here…" Larie licked his lips, the silver stud shining, "It looks like this play's gonna be fun."

"All three of you?" Double-N asked, then her eyes widened in comprehension, "ANNY!" she cried, both her and An looking at the stage, fearful for their friend.

But Anny already knew.

"_Kanker_." She hissed.

"Hiya, Anny." Tee said, "I guess we'll be trying out together."

"The hell we are, beat it, Kanker! This is _my_ audition."

"No can do." He said with a smile, "The teacher's making us try out since there weren't enough boys volunteering."

The teacher then snaps at them to read from another selection, both teens flip through their scripts, glaring at each other.

"So what's this play about anyway?" Larie asked Double-N. Double-N sighs and explains while Jay and An watch Tee and Anny read a conversation between Oberon and Titania;

"Ill met by moonlight, proud Titania." Tee said, a little bit of taunting in his voice.

"What, jealous Oberon! Fairies, skip hence. I forsworn his bed and company." Anny snapped, enjoying the authority the character she was reading had.

"Tarry, rash wanton: am not I thy Lord?" he asked, smiling at the fact that he seemed to have more authority in this relationship.

"Then I must be thy lady." Anny read, a bit annoyed that she would ever have to say she was Tee's girl, even in a play, but she went on to read, a devious smirk on her face as she continued to read, "But I know. When thou hast stolen away from fairy land, And in the shape of Corin sat all day, Playing on pipes of corn and versing love To _amorous Phillida_. Why are thou here, Come from the farthest Steppe of India? But that, forsooth, the bouncing Amazon," Anny pointed to Karen who was sitting in the front of the auditorium with Nate, Rachel and Jenny. Rachel and Jenny were enraptured in their conversation, Karen flipped Anny off and muttered, "Bitch!" Rachel and Jenny shushed her, looking back at the two on stage, eyes wide and eager to hear more.

The other two Ans and Kankers sat in the back, jaws dropped and eyes wide in disbelief.

"Why are they talking like that, Double-N?" An asked, confused.

"Yeah, they sound weird." Jay agreed.

"They're reading the script, which is in an older English dialect," Double-N explained amazed by the two's chemistry on stage, "But it sounds similar to their normal, every day arguments."

"Yeah, it's freaking weird." Larie said.

The teacher clapped and motioned for them to sit back down, both confused by the expressions on the other's faces.

"What?" they asked in unison, then jumped that they said the same thing at the same time.

"I guess we're in sync, huh, Anny?" Tee said, giving her a grin that was probably supposed to be alluring but just looked creepy.

"If we're in sync then we must both want you to go _fuck yourself_." Anny snapped, taking a seat with her friends, then asked, "What was all that about?"

"You were talking funny but it still sounded like your normal arguing." An said.

"What?" Anny looked to Double-N to explain, but before she could say a word, her name was called, "I'll explain when I get back." Double-N said, making her way on stage. Larie smiled as he watched her walk away, staring at her butt until she made it on stage. The teacher told her which page, but Double-N asked which scene and what line. The teacher seemed shocked, but gave them to her.

Double-N took a breath, and began reciting the verses without even looking at a script, getting down on her knees as if in prayer, " O weary night, O long and tedious night, Abate thy hour! Shine comforts from the east, That I may back to Athens by daylight, From these that my poor company detest: And sleep, that sometimes shuts up sorrow's eye, Steal me awhile from mine own company." Anny's jaw dropped, "Sock head memorized the whole stinkin' play!" she cried. Larie looked at her in awe, "Hot damn, that's sexy." An began to clap for her friend, but Anny stopped her, "Not yet Lumpy, wait until she's done."

The teacher applauded and called for Larie to come up to practice a scene, Larie smiled and licked his lips, shining silver stud glittering as he uncurled his script in his hands as he made his way on stage. Double-N stood firm, nodding to Larie as he met her onstage. The teacher told them what part they were to try, Larie looked at his script, confused, then Double-N quickly flipped to the page for him and pointed where he was to start.

"O Helena, goddess, nymph, perfect, divine! To what, my love, shall I compare thine eyne? Crystal is muddy. O, how ripe in show, Thy lips, those kissing cherries, tempting grow! That pure congealed white, high Taurus snow, Fann'd with the eastern wind, turns to a crow When thou hold'st up thy hand: O, let me kiss This princess of pure white, this seal of bliss!" Larie grabbed her hand eagerly and went to kiss her hand, but Double-N snatched it back and began pointing at him, "O spite! O hell! I see you all are bent To set against me for your merriment: If you we re civil and knew courtesy, You would not do to me this injury!" She went on about how Larie and peoples unknown to anyone but her (since she was the only one who actually read the play before hand) were making fun of her. "A trim exploit, a manly enterprise, To conjure tears up in a poor maid's eyes With your derision! None of noble sort Would so offend a virgin, and extort A poor soul's patience, all to make sport!" Larie's eyes were wide with surprise, "Day-mm-n." He said, impressed, licking his lips. Double-N smiled and curtsied as the others applauded.

The teacher told them they were done and asked Double-N to come to the table, Larie slapped her butt as he passed, making her yelp. The teacher spoke to her for a moment before calling An, who skipped up to the stage, Double-N stopped her and spoke to her for a minute, then An gave Double-N her famous smile and said, "I forgot it, Double-N." Double-N face-palmed asked the teacher for a spare script, thanking her as she flipped to the page the teacher asked and pointed out a passage to An, indicating what she should say. An walked up to the stage and said, "I am amazed, and know not what to say" With a straight face. "A truer statement has never been said by An." Karen commented. Nate nudged her, scowling.

The teacher thanked her and asked Jay to come up and read with her as Double-N flipped to then pointed to the next part An would have to read. An looked at Double-N, scared as Jay walked up, trying to give her a comforting smile and only making her more nervous.

An whispered something like, "I can't do this, Double-N." Double-N whispered something into her ear and An perked up, "Remember, An, just read what Hermia says." Double-N reminded her as she made her way to her seat with Anny, An nodded gleefully.

"What did you say to her?" Anny asked.

"Shhh!" Double-N said, "I'll tell you after rehearsals." Jay finally made his way up and An showed him where they would start on her script, Jay looked over at hers with her as he began, "How now, my love! Why is your cheek so pale? How chance the roses there do fade so?"

"Belike for want of rain, which I could well Beteem them from the tempest of my eyes." An replied, much to everyone's surprise.

The two continued to speak, both somehow managing to do well. The teacher thanked them both, and everyone clapped. Jay and An waved to each other as they walked back down to their seats.

.

.

.

After the audition, the Ans were walking to the van to go home.

"Pudding skins?" Anny asked, astounding, "You got her to recite that crap so well by offering to make her pudding skins?" An's smile was huge and excited, she bounced to the car as they talked.

"Indeed," Double-N replied, looking very pleased with herself, "So can we stop at the grocery store to pick up pudding mix?" An's smile grew bigger and she nodded wildly.

"Fine with me, Sock-head, but I'm not paying for them."

"Wouldn't dream of asking you to, Anny." Double-N smiled as they piled into the van, Anny in the driver's seat, Double-N in the passenger's seat and An bouncing on the mattress in the back.

.

.

.

In the grocery store, a large woman walks with her cart half full of vegetables towards the snack aisle, then a cart flies past her.

"I'M IN MY HAPPY PLACE DOUBLE-N!" the girl in the cart screams, packages of pudding mix around her. She wore a green off shoulder shirt with blue jeans and glasses, her long red hair flowing behind her as she and her pink haired friend flew through the store, "YAHHOOO!" The girl with the pink hair screamed as she steered the speeding cart they were riding through the store, clinging to the handles and laughing. She wore a yellow tank top and blue jeans, gold hoops dangling from her ears, her green tongue was flying out of her mouth.

"AN! ANNY! YOU GET BACK HERE THIS INSTANT!" A girl with long black hair called, dashing behind them. She wore a red turtle neck and a purple skirt, she had a small black ski cap on her head, a gap between her two front teeth and a messenger bag over her shoulder, "Excuse me," she said to the woman, "I WILL NOT BE BANNED FROM ANOTHER GROCERY STORE BECAUSE OF YOUR SHINANIGANS!" she shouted waving her fist in the air, giving chase into the next aisle. Then the girl shouted, "AN! ANNY! HELP ME!" She backed out of the aisle, a boy with shaggy blue hair twirling a lock of her hair between his fingers, a devious smile on his face with his tongue poking out, a silver stud embedded in his tongue. He wore an old brown jacket and jeans, "Hiya, Double-N. Fancy seeing you here." He said. "S-stay back, L-Larie!" Double-N stuttered, "I-I mean it!"

"Aw, you're so cute when you're terrified." Larie purred. The two girls in the cart saw their friend with Larie and the pink haired one began slowing the cart down with her feet, the soles of her shoes becoming thinner by the second until they came to a complete stop. The red-head glances around nervously as a boy with long blonde hair pulled up in a ponytail began crawling under her cart, his gray t-shirt and red shorts were bright against the white tiles of the floor. He finally popped up into her vision and shouted, "Hiya, An!" An jumped out of the cart screaming, "JAY KANKER!" Jay caught her in mid-air and said, "We were going grocery shopping too! Small world, huh?" A boy with messy red hair smiled behind the pink haired girl, revealing a blue tooth. He wore a white shirt with red polka dots and the sleeves torn off and jeans, his ears were filled with earrings.

"Hiya, Anny."

"Kankers." Anny growled, turning around to face him.

"Yeah, I know, small world, we wouldn't have even known you were here if you hadn't been riding around in this shopping cart."

"I told you not to!" Double-N said, Larie pulling her hair so her face was closer to his.

"What do you want, Tee?" Anny asked, her fists clenched and her fear rising.

"We just wanted to see if you ladies needed any help." Tee replied with a smirk.

"No thanks, we're done." An informed them. "You sure?" Jay asked, holding her closer to him, An struggled to escape his embrace.

"Yes, quite sure, we were just about to purchase…" Double-N began, but Larie put his face an inch from hers and licked his lips, making her squeak and cover her mouth with her hands.

"You know what happens when you do that, Muffin." Larie said, Double-N shivered and hugged herself.

"Jeez, we've dealt with you enough for one day, don't you think?" Anny asked. "Can't you just leave us alone?"

The boys looked at each other, then Tee said, "Alright." The girls looked confused, "Really?" An asked. Jay put her down and she dashed to Anny.

"Yeah, sure." Larie said, letting Double-N go, she too, ran to hide behind her large friend.

"But not with out a good-bye kiss." Tee said darkly as he and his brothers each grabbed their girl.

"GOOD-BYE KISSES ARE BAD FOR AN!" An screamed.

"YOU WOULDN'T DARE!" Double-N cried.

"LET GO OF ME, ASSHOLE!" Anny shouted.

"Excuse me." The large woman said, "I need to get through here." All six look at her and the brothers dragged their victims into the snack aisle. "Thank you." She said, then walked past an aisle with crying girls.

.

.

.

By the time the Ans got to Double-N's house, they had been through hell, after the boys got their 'good bye kisses' they then followed the girls out to the check out counter, then to their van and gave them another good bye kiss before letting them drive away from them as fast as they could. All three girls collapsed onto Double-N's living room furniture as soon as they arrived at her house.

"An, I know I promised you pudding skin, but I'm exhausted, can we make it tomorrow?" Double-N asked.

"Okay, Double-N." An said, she was a little sad, but she was also tired from the Kankers ambush.

"Urg, freaking Kankers." Anny grumbled, "They _always_ do that." She sunk farther into the couch, "I _hate_ it when they do that."

.

.

.

The next day after school, the drama teacher put the results of the auditions up for everyone to see. The other kids from the cul-de-sac were already there when the Ans arrived, Double-N carries a book of the play under her arm.

"Woohoo! I'm Puck!" Jenny said, then paused, "Hey, Double-N, who's Puck?"

"Puck is a fairy that uses magic to try to help Helena get the man she loves, but messes up and sets up a huge part of the plot."

"Oh." Jenny said, then she smiled and shouted, "ROCK ON!" and dashed down the hallway.

"Double-N-An girl, this fairy you speak of, it's not real, yes?" Rachel asked.

"The fairies are just there to add some comedy, Rachel, they're not real."

"Oh? Because roughly four years ago, you fell under the spell of a fairy and kissed the Buck-Toothed-Kanker boy, yes?" Karen and Anny laughed at that, An scowled and put her arm around Double-N for support. Double-N blushed and opened her mouth, then closed it, then said "Alright, Rachel, in this play, the fairies use magic to try to help people and mess with one another, is that answer satisfactory?" Rachel smiled, "Yes, your answer pleases the Daughter of a Shepherd. Now could you please explain to Rachel who this Hippolyta is?"

"Hippolyta is the Queen of the Amazons, she's betrothed to Theseus, the Duke of Athens. She's a truly talented warrior. It seems that you've also been assigned some background parts as well." Rachel seemed pleased to be playing a Queen of a race of Amazon warriors.

"Thank you, Double-N-An girl, and Rachel will keep an eye out for those pesky fairies so you won't kiss anymore Kanker boys, yes?" Rachel said as she left. Double-N's whole face turned red and she pulled her hat down towards her face. Anny didn't laugh because she herself had been kissed by a Kanker and knew it was no fun, Karen had never underwent that kind of horror, so she kept laughing.

"Oh shut up, Karen." Anny snapped, "You try dealing with those guys kissing you everyday and then see what it's like."

"But she did it on purpose!" Karen laughed.

"Just like you kissed Tee on purpose because of those fairies?" An asked. Anny looked at An with shocked glee, Double-N just looked shocked. The hall went quiet as Karen denied it, "No I didn't!" she snapped. Nate looked at her awkwardly then turned to Double-N, "Um, I'm playing Theseus as well as a few back up characters. So I guess I pretend marry Rachel?" Double-N nodded. "Okay, thanks for the heads up, Double-N." he said, then swiftly walked away.

"I did _not_ do it, Nate!" Karen called, "I really didn't!"

"I saw. You did." An said. Anny laughed, "I guess you're just like us then, huh, Karen?" Karen scowled, then looked at Double-N, "I only have background parts, who the hell is Mustard Seed?"

"Why don't you try reading it and find out for yourself, Karen?" Anny snapped, she and An putting themselves between her and Double-N, "Or you could kiss Tee again, either one." Karen flipped Anny off and stomped past them.

"Thank you." Double-N said to her friends.

"Hiya, girls." A familiar voice called.

"Kankers." Anny growled. The three boys walked up to them, smiling.

"Did you figure out which part you got yet?" Jay asked.

"Nope." An said, then motioned for Double-N to read, "An…" her eyes widened, "AN! YOU PLAY HERMIA, SHE'S ONE OF THE MAIN CHARACTERS!" she hugged her friend, "I'M SO PROUD OF YOU!"

"Way to go, Lumpy!" Anny said, patting An on a back. "What about me, Sock head?"

"Anny… You play Titania, the Queen of the Fairies."

"Queen huh?" Anny said, smiling, "I like the sound of that."

"What about you, Double-N?" Double-N found her name and read, "Helena." She then looked at her friends, "Ladies, we have gotten the BIGGEST FEMALE ROLES IN THE WHOLE PLAY!" The three hugged each other and jumped up and down, excited. The boys glanced at the sheet, "Oberon and Nick Bottom." Tee read. Double-N stopped jumping.

"What's wrong Sock head?"

"Oberon is the _King_ of the fairies, Anny. And Nick Bottom is the one Titania is tricked into falling in love with." Double-N says softly, shocked. Anny and An stopped jumping.

"_What_?" Anny said, looking at the paper and checking his name and the roles he'd been assigned again.

"I guess it was meant to be." Tee said, smiling.

"I wouldn't say _that_, Tee. While Titania _is _Oberon's wife, they're estranged at the beginning of the play."

"But they get together at the end of the play, right?" Tee asked.

"Yes, but only after he has one of his fairies puts Titania under a love spell and she falls for Nick Bottom, whose head is turned into… one of a _donkey_." His brothers begin to chuckle.

"You mean, for a part of the play…" Tee began, his anger growing.

"You'll have the face of an ass!" Anny cried. His brothers burst out laughing, Larie and Jay fall onto the floor laughing while Anny leans against the wall and laughs. Tee turns red and turns to Double-N, "But Titania still loves him, despite his… uh…condition." Double-N informs him hiding behind her book, trying to be positive, An hugs Double-N, fearful of what Tee might do to her. Tee huffs and stomps past her, smashing a locker as he storms through the halls.

"Oh man," Larie laughed, trying to wipe away tears of joy as he pulled himself back up, to try to read the paper, "I can't see what it says, can you, Jay?"

"I can't breathe!" Jay cried, still laughing on the floor. "The face of an ASS!" he laughed.

"Could you tell us what we got, Double-N?" Larie asked, "We can't do much right now!" he laughed.

"Um, sure, Larie." She said, unnerved, she looked at both names, and her eyes widened in horror. "This can't be." She muttered, re-checking.

"What?" Larie and Jay asked, finally calming down.

"Jay is Lysander, Hermia's…" she gulped, "_boyfriend that she runs away with to elope._" An looked at her, confused at the word elope, "Married, An. They run away to get married." An was horror stricken, she fell to her knees and looked at the ceiling, "NOOOOOOO!" she screamed. Jay's face broke out into a huge smile, "YES!" he shouted, raising his fists into the air, "BEST! DAY! EVER!"

"And what about me?" Larie asked. Double-N was pale as a sheep, "You play Demetrius, he's in love with Hermia at first but…" She gulps, "Helena is in love with him and he ends up with her at the end of the play!" She cried, sliding onto her knees. Larie brightened and looked at Double-N defeated on the floor, "Are you serious?" he asked, excited. Double-N nodded, not looking at him, "Yes."

"YES! BEST! DAY! EVER!" Larie agreed, high-fiving his brother, then they ran down the hall chanting, "BEST! DAY! EVER!" Double-N looked at the ground, "One of Shakespeare's greatest comedies has just turned into one of our greatest tragedies." She said.

.

.

.

The girls were lounging around Double-N's house, stunned.

"The _one_ time we all do well and get the biggest roles we end up stuck with the Kankers." Anny said in disbelief, she looked at her friends, "Does God hate us or something?"

"I doubt that Anny." Double-N said, "There's a reason for everything."

"Yeah, so what's his reasons for matching us up with the Kankers?"

"Well in your case, Anny, probably allow you to see Tee Kanker wearing a donkey head."

"Head of an ass." An corrected. The girls were silent for a minute then the three of them began to laugh, not stopping until they slid onto the floor.

.

.

.

The following Monday, after school, all three girls walked into the theater, nervous about how the day will go. Anny wore a yellow t-shirt and black sweat pants, her short pink hair was pulled back into a small ponytail. Ann wore a red tank-top with gray sweatpants and her long black hair was pulled back into a ponytail. And An wore a green tank and blue sweatpants, her floppy red hair pulled back into a ponytail that Double-N had helped her with.

They looked at the stage.

"Well?" Double-N asked Anny, An looked to her friends for guidance.

"Let's get this over with." Anny muttered. The three hopped on stage.

.

.

.

(MONTAGE TIME EVERYONE! )

.

.

.

Ann and Larie were working on a scene together, Rachel and Jenny can be seen in the background, chatting. Ann has to act as if she was begging Larie to love her back. But while Ann is pleading, Larie suddenly gets an evil smirk that grows as Ann slowly realizes that something bad is going to happen, Ann turns to run, but Larie grabs her by her long hair and wraps her with it, then trips her, making her fall into his arms, she shouts for help, but he smothers it with a long kiss. Then when he finishes, he spins her free of her hair, sending her to fall towards the ground with her tongue lolling out, but An and Anny catch her before she lands, An looks at Double-N and is worried, Anny looks at Larie and is pissed.

Anny and Tee are doing a scene where Titania is spoiling Bottom with affection, Nate is helping Karen with her very few and scattered lines in the background, when Larie and Jay show Tee the donkey head he has to wear, biting their lips trying not to laugh. Anny takes one look at it and bursts out laughing, falling over and banging her fist on the ground with one hand and pointing to the donkey head with the other. Tee gets mad, then smiles darkly, grabs Anny by her shirt collar and pulls the donkey head over both of their heads. Then Anny is shown with her tongue tied like a balloon animal in the shape of a donkey. Double-N is helping her undo the knots, wearing gloves, and An brings over a bucket of ice for the impending swelling.

An and Jay are doing the scene they did at the auditions, while Rachel, Karen, Jenny and Nate are moving parts of the set onto the stage. An is super nervous because of what happened to Anny and Double-N earlier, so when he tries to grab her hand as he says his lines, An shouts her lines as she runs away, running through several sets, leaving a silhouette of her panicked fleeing form in each one. She is then seen, crying with her tongue hanging out and hugging Double-N, who pats her back and says comforting words to her, Anny face-palms.

.

.

.

(End montage)

.

.

.

The girls walk into Anny's room and collapse onto her bed face first.

"Today sucked eggs." Anny said into her comforter.

"Eggs, eggs, eggs." An repeats, her voice muffled by the bed.

"Well, perhaps they were excited and will actually let us work on the play tomorrow." Double-N says hopefully.

.

.

.

(MONTAGE NUMBER 2!)

.

TUESDAY

.

Anny is helping paint a new background to make up for one of the ones An messed up the day before, there are many fake bushes behind her. The Jaws theme song plays as Tee's donkey head pops up behind one of the fake bushes furthest from her, but when Anny looks over at it, the donkey head is gone. She shrugs and goes back to painting. Then the donkey head pops up behind another fake bush that's closer to her, but it quickly sinks back down behind it when Anny turns around again. The donkey head pops up behind a bush that's almost right behind Anny, but when she turns around to strike it with her brush, she sees that she just splattered a shocked An and Double-N with blue paint. An is holding a couple more buckets of paint while Double-N is cradling several more brushes and rollers in her arms. Anny seems relieved that it was just her friends and goes to explain herself when Tee leaps from the side and tackles her off screen, leaving nothing but his donkey head behind, An and Double-D drop what their holding, hug each other and scream, only for darkened hands to cover their mouths, rip them apart and drag them off screen as well, the girls kicking and clawing at the ground.

Later you see Anny collapse onto her bed, covered with paint and hickeys, "Fucking Kankers." She groans.

.

WEDNESDAY

.

Ann is checking on the sand bag ropes tied and wrapped around posts backstage, checking each one off of a clipboard in her hand after she establishes that they are secure while Anny and An are moving a part of the set onto the stage. Ann checks another off the list and is surprised to see that one of the ropes attached to the sand bags is missing, she turns a bit to see Larie holding the rope with a devious grin on his face. Ann cries out, dropping her pen and clipboard and turns to run, but Larie quickly ties the rope around her wrists and lets go. Ann screams as she rockets into the lights above, her hat flies off her head and falls onto the ground, finally stopping at a light set where Larie is sitting and waiting for her, an evil smile curling on his lips. The sand bag attached to the other end of Ann's rope crashes into the set piece An and Anny were carrying, they look up and see Double-N's feet kicking in the air and hear her screaming and run to where the ropes are to help, only for them to discover that the ropes are gone and to see large shadows of the remaining Kankers, growing on the wall, rope in their hands. An and Anny scream in terror as the shadows overwhelm them.

Later you see Double-N collapse onto her bed, her wrists red and raw from the rope and also covered in hickeys, "Curse those Kankers." She mumbles.

.

THURSDAY

.

The Ans are cleaning up after the sand bag incident the day before, Anny is holding the dust pan and brushing the pile Double-N just made into the dust pan while Double-N is sweeping another pile, muttering, "Messy, messy, messy." An is happily mopping the floor when Jay begins to run towards her. Terrified, An runs and slips on the floor and falls into a trap door, landing on a mattress. Jay leaps in after her, looking eager while Anny and Double-N scream and dash over to the trap door to make sure she's okay. An sees shadows over her friends' heads and calls out to them, but it's too late, the figures push Anny and Double-N in too, leaping in after them and closing the trap door on the way down. The three Ans shiver, huddling together, but only their eyes are visible, they hear the Kankers laugh and you see the girls' yanked away one by one.

Later you see An collapse on to her bed, crying and, again, covered in hickeys, "Kankers scare An!" she sobs into her disgusting mattress.

.

FRIDAY

.

The girls are going into a changing room to try on their costumes, which for An and Double-N are white toga-style dresses with flower circlets for their heads, An's are White Daisies and Double-N's are white violets. Anny's costume is a longer white robe with purple sleeves and bottom with little golden butterflies embroidered on it, and she has a crown made out of sunflowers and red poppies as well as fake glittery fairy wings. Since the Ans don't want another incident with the Kankers, they have Rachel and Jenny on either side of the door to guard them while they change, Double-N thanks them for helping them out. Rachel says, "Leave the Over-Zealous-Kanker boys to us, yes?"

"You can count on us, Double-N!" Jenny agrees. Double-N thanks them once again and the three girls go in to change. Halfway through changing into their costumes, they hear something, the girls look around wildly, only to find the Kankers above them, drooling.

.

.

.

(end montage)

.

.

.

The girls scream and dash out of the dressing room, making Jenny and Rachel, who were chatting outside, spin as the Ans flew by. An was wearing her sweatpants with her toga over it, her daisy circlet tilted so it covers one of her eyes, she has only one shoe on. Anny's robe untied, leaving it open, but she holds it closed with her hands, her crown hanging off her elbow and one wing slung to her back while the other flew wildly as she ran. Double-N's held the top of her toga close to her chest, she was almost done putting it on when they noticed the Kankers, her violet circlet flying off her head, she still had her shoes on, but they were untied.

"What was all that about?" Jenny asked.

Then the Kankers speed out behind them, wearing their own costumes. Jay wore a white toga, but unlike the girl's togas, it left most of his chest exposed, however he had a fake chest plate and a shoulder plate on his left shoulder covering his chest and a fake sword in a sheathe hanging by his waist, the chest plate had a fancy L on it, probably to remind the audience which guy he was. Larie's costume was much the same, only his chest plate had a fancy D on it and his shoulder plate was on the right shoulder. Tee's wore his Oberon costume, because it probably would've been hard to see them change with the donkey head on. He wore white robes like Anny, only with golden vines climbing up the robe instead of butterflies. His wreath was made of golden leaves with golden ferns behind them to assert that he was a king. He had glittery fairy wings like Anny, however, his were on all the way.

"HELP!" the Ans cried as the Kankers launched towards them, grabbed them, then dragged them back into the changing room, the girls' fingernails scratching a path in the floor behind them as they were dragged back in, kicking and screaming for help. When the boys were done, they swaggered out of the dressing rooms, looking quite pleased with themselves.

The Ans however, were not so happy, they stormed out of the dressing room and Anny grabbed the Kankers by their hair, lifting them off the ground in front of everyone.

"That's it, I'm done!" Anny snapped, "This was supposed to be fun but you guys keep ruining it for us and this is the last straw, dammit!" She jabbed at them with her finger.

"I'm not in my happy place guys!" An sobbed.

Double-N glares at the Kankers, "A Midsummer Nights Dream is one of my favorite plays, and when I learned that we had gotten the lead female roles, I was ecstatic! But you three have completely and utterly ruined _all_ the fun of this experience! Good day to you, gentlemen!" she snaps. Anny drops the boys to the floor and the three of them march back into the changing room to change back into their clothes, pissed off.

"What?" Nate cried, "You three can't leave!"

"Watch us!" Anny snapped.

"I'll take one of their parts." Karen volunteered.

"Because you want to kiss Tee." An said, Anny laughed and even Double-N chuckled a bit.

"Shut up! No I don't!"

"No one is taking anyone else's parts." Nate declared. Tee looked at Karen, "And you're not really my type." Anny and An lose it inside, laughing loudly, Double-N's laughter can be heard as well, but it's not as loud.

"BURN!" Anny shouted.

"Fuck you, Anny." Karen snapped.

"As he was saying, no one is taking anyone else's parts." Tee said, "If we promise to behave, until the play is over, then will you stay?"

The Ans whispered inside the dressing room, then came out in the same clothes that they had been wearing all week.

"If you guys really promise to lay off, then we'll stay." Anny said, "But just _one_ mess up, and we're gone." She held out her hand, "Deal?" Tee shook it, "Deal."

"Good, now let go of my hand, asshole." Anny snapped, pulling her hand back.

.

.

.

Two and a half weeks later, at the Kankers trailer, the three brothers look exhausted, Jay goes upstairs to their room while Larie and Tee try to watch TV.

"I can't do this much longer," Larie said, shaking and rubbing his hands through his hair, "I need to slap her ass or something, man! I _need_ _it_!" Tee slapped him and started shaking him, "Pull yourself together, man! We can do this! And think about it, we get our girls on stage, don't we? In front of everyone, even their parents! It's like stamping our claim on them to the world!" Tee stops and looks around, "Hey, where's Jay?"

"Why the fuck would I know? I'm not his keeper."

"He's probably up in our room or something, go get him before he cracks."

"Who died and made you king, Ass face?" Tee growled and punched Larie through the ceiling into their room, destroying Jay's little love niche filled with pictures of An over the years along with some of her stuff, also among the wreckage, Larie finds Double-N's old sock from about four years ago, Larie sees it and glares at his brother, "WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS?" he demanded, pointing at it.

"Uh… A sock?" Jay replied, scooping up the pictures of An, trying not to make eye-contact. Larie picks it up and shoves it in his face, "NO SHIT SHERLOCK, BUT THIS IS DOUBLE-N'S SOCK! NOT AN'S! WHY THE FUCK DO YOU HAVE THIS?"

"Um, uh, I can explain!" Jay said, only for the two to end up in a fist-fight, Tee comes up to see the commotion, "What the fuck are you two doing?" he asked. Larie got up and showed Tee the sock. "It's a sock," Tee said, unimpressed.

"It's Double-N's sock," Larie growled, "I found it in his fucking love shrine to An!"

Tee looked at Jay, shocked, "What the fuck, Jay?"

"I can explain!" he shouted, Larie pounced, ready to beat the crap out of his brother, but Tee grabbed him in mid-air, "Larie, take a walk, I'll get this shit sorted out, but you need some air."

"But!"

"Walk." His brother said sternly, then threw him outside, "The fresh air will do you good!" he called. Larie landed in front of Double-N's house as she was walking home, skidding into the ground.

"OH GOOD LORD!" she cried, running to check on him, "Are you okay?"

"No." he managed, "A little help please?" She nodded and dashed into her house to grab her first aid kit, saying, "Oh dear! Oh dear! Oh dear!"

.

.

.

Inside Double-N's house, Larie laid on the couch, covered in bandages and ice packs, while Double-N sat in a wooden chair beside him, looking confused as she finished wrapping his forehead.

"So let me see if I get this straight, Tee told you to take a walk to get some fresh air so he _threw_ you into my front yard?" Double-N asked, finishing the bandage on his head, "_Why_ would he do that?"

Larie sat up, "Because I found one of your old socks in Jay's little love shrine to An!"

"Jay has a love shrine to An?" Double-N asked, horrified.

"Yeah, so why does he have your old sock?" Double-N thought about it for a moment then flushed with embarrassment.

"What?" Larie asked.

"I _gave_ it to him." Double-N groaned, "During that little… _incident_, remember? Valentine's Day? About four years ago?" Larie remembered, "You gave him your sock?" he asked, confused.

"You've stolen my underwear." She countered, Larie sighed, "Good point." He stopped and looked at her, "Did you get anything from him?" She winced, then slipped her hand under her hat and pulled out a yellowing card, he looked at it, then read it. He looked at her, hurt, "Why do you still have this? Do you like Jay or something?" Double-N gave him a bewildered look, "No, I do _not_ like Jay!"

"Then why did you keep this?"

She sighed, blushing, then took it from him, "Because it was the first heart-felt thing a boy's ever given me." She said softly.

"Heart-felt?" Larie repeated, "It's a piece of shit!"

She gave him a soft smile, "Yes, well, while the craftsmanship is not the best, it still got his feelings across. You're his brother, you know how hard he tried to make An's card that year." Larie stopped and nodded, remembering his brother coloring that stupid thing with a stupid grin on his face and freaking cuddling with it just thinking about An, his little brother rushing to give it to her, so proud of the stupid thing.

"He put so much effort and love into it, even though it was simple, even though it was a bit juvenile and badly crafted. He still put his heart into it and tried. Honestly, it's a lot nicer then what I'm used to you three doing to us." She put the card back under her hat, "Why does this bother you so much, Larie? It's just an old sock and an old card, there's nothing between me and Jay, so…" Larie grabs her and shouts, "BECAUSE I LOVE YOU, DAMMIT! I HAVE FOR YEARS!" Then he kissed her, but when he tried to pull apart, the stud in his tongue got stuck in the gap between her two front teeth.

"OW!" they cried in unison. They realized what happened and Double-N grabbed her phone from her pocket and typed, "We need to remove the stud from your tongue, then we can remove it from between my teeth." She then handed him the phone so he could reply. "Ok." He typed, "On the count of 3?" then put the phone down and reached for the stud under his tongue and nodded for Double-N to start the count down. She put up a one (finger) then two, then three and he yanked it off, but the bottom part of the stud slipped in his fingers and fell into his mouth. Double-N pulled the top part of the stud out of her teeth, "OW!" she cried, then she looked at Larie, "Are you alright, Larie?" she asked. He was pale, "I think I just swallowed it." He said softly, astonished. "We need to get to the hospital!" Double-N cried, snatching up her keys and her purse and her phone, then half dragging Larie to the retro van as she shoved the rest of the stud into her pocket.

.

.

.

At the hospital, the doctors informed Larie that he'd need to get his stomach pumped. Ann was kicked out for the procedure, so she wandered around the hospital until she noticed the gift shop, she saw a stand for studs similar to Larie's in the window and went to go in as a woman with long messy blue hair walked out of the shop, turning out the lights and locking the door, a box under one arm and her purse hung over the other.

"UM! Excuse me!" Ann said, running towards her, "Um, I know you're closed, but do you think you could please ring me up for a stud that goes in someone's tongue?" The woman looked at her, amused, "You don't seem like the kinda girl who'd have her tongue pierced." She said, pulling Ann's tongue out, revealing that it was not pierced, then letting it roll back into her mouth. "It's not for me…" She said, "It's for this boy…" the woman's eyes widened with interest, "Oh? And why do you want to give him a new one?" Ann pulled out the rest of the stud from her pocket and showed it to her, "Because I'm the reason he lost half of this one."

"And how'd you do that?"

Ann sighed, "I'm afraid that it's a long story…"

"Why is it a long story?"

"That's an even _longer_ story." The woman patted her on the back, "Where is he?"

"He's getting his stomach pumped." The woman smiled, "Then we've got plenty of time, come on, let's talk about this over some nice, decaf coffee." She said, putting her arm around Ann's shoulder and led her to the cafeteria.

.

.

.

After Ann explained the whole situation and most of their history, the woman laughed, "So you two really got stuck? And when you were trying to free yourself he somehow managed to swallow half of it?"

Ann blushed, "Yes ma'am." The woman patted her on the shoulder, "I'm sorry, I don't mean to seem rude, it's just kind of funny."

"I suppose it is in hindsight, but I just don't know what to do about him." Ann said, looking down into her cup.

"Well, you seem to care about him, or you wouldn't have brought him in your house in the first place, or showed him something so precious to you if you didn't care." Her face then became grave, "But his ways of showing affection are a bit… frightening?" she tried.

"Very frightening." Ann agreed.

"Maybe you should tell him how you'd _prefer_ he'd show his affections, then see how you feel?" The woman suggested. Ann smiled and nodded, "I think I will, thank you for the advise," she blushed, "and for listening to me ramble on and on about my problems."

"Oh, it's my pleasure, I'm just glad I was helpful." She then looked at the box, "Hey, since you only need one half, why don't you look in here?" she said, opening the box to reveal hundreds of little studs, only all of them seemed to be bent or chipped. "Apparently they were banged around and I can't sell them, so I was going to send them back to the manufacturer, but I think they won't miss one messed up stud." She said.

Ann pulled out a silver stud bent into the shape of an L, with hearts on each end, the woman raised her eyebrows at her, Ann blushed, "I just picked one, alright? There's no deep meaning or anything to it."

"Sure." the woman laughed, glancing at her watch, "Your friend should be completely cleaned out by now, he'll be needing you." Ann nodded, slipping the stud she chose into her pocket, "Thank you again for everything," she said, shaking her hand, "By the way, I never did get your name…"

"It's Babs." The woman said, "And I was happy to help, Ann." Ann then got up and left, then she remembered her coffee and turned to get it, but when she got back to the table, Babs was gone. Ann glanced around for her, but didn't see her anywhere.

"She must have gone home," she told herself as she gathered her luke-warm coffee from the table. She then stopped and grabbed something for Larie, he was probably going to need some sort of food after having everything he'd eaten all day sucked out of him.

.

.

.

Larie felt like shit. His stomach was completely and utterly empty but instead of feeling pumped it felt as if the doctors had squeezed and twisted it until there was nothing left. He moaned, his tongue hurt, his stomach hurt and the girl he adored probably didn't feel the same, he wanted to jump off a cliff. Ann came back, with half a cup of coffee and a brown paper bag, her purse over her shoulder.

"That better not be a barf bag." Larie groaned.

"Muffin?" she asked, offering him the bag. Inside there was a blueberry muffin and a bottle of water.

"Thank you." He said, he took a bite and felt the strangeness of food touching the hole in his tongue where his stud used to be. He made a face.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"It's weird to eat with a hole in your tongue." He replied. She brightened, "I think I might have something that could help with that." She rummaged in her pocket and pulled out the half of his stud that he didn't swallow and a small baggy with a different silver stud, it was bent and had hearts on the end. She pulled a handkerchief from her purse and wiped at the studs, then pulled the bottom off of the heart one and stuck it at the end of his stud.

"Here." She said, "I realize it's not the same, but it'll help fill the hole in your tongue." He took it carefully and stared at his tongue. Ann pulled out a small mirror from her purse.

"Thanks, Muffin." He said, using her mirror to help put the stud back in, the heart was underneath his tongue so he wouldn't get crap from his brothers. He put his tongue down on the bottom of his mouth, trying it out, he felt the little silver heart against the inside of his mouth and felt warmth surge through his chest, his face felt hot. The doctor called for Ann, she gave him an encouraging smile and walked out to talk with the doctor, Larie inhaled the muffin and the bottle of water, grateful that Ann had gotten him food. He watched as the doctor handed her something small and shiny, she pulled her handkerchief out and began cleaning it as they talked. Finally the doctor left and Ann came back, "The doctor said you should be fine, but that you'll be a little weak until you get some rest and more food in you, but I can take you home." She showed him the small silver stud in the handkerchief, "And they got your stud back." She said, "They even cleaned it for you." He stuck the heart stud through a hole in his hospital bracelet and then put his stud on the other end.

"Let's go home." He said, trying to get up, but he got dizzy. Ann helped him up and walked him to the van in the parking lot. Once they got in and buckled up, Ann began to drive out of the parking lot when Larie asked, "How do I become more… heart-felt?" Ann stopped and backed back into the spot then parked again. She looked at him and said, "You take small steps."

"Small steps?" He asked, confused. She gave him a small smile, "Hold out your hand." He obeyed, holding out his left hand. To his surprise she took it and intertwined her fingers with his, his heart beat faster and his face turned red, his hand was tingling at the touch of her skin.

"See?" she said, "While I admit, holding hands can be awkward at times, it's a nice small step that I find very loving…" She looked at him then blushed.

"It's nice." He agreed. She smiled, "It is." They looked at each other awkwardly and smiled, blushing.

Then there was a knock on the windshield, making them both jump. "What the fuck are you two kids doing?" a grouchy man asked, then looked to Ann, "Are you going to come out of the car or are you leaving because I'd like to fucking _park_." Larie angrily slipped his hand out of Ann's and started banging on the horn, flipping the bird at the man with the other hand, mouthing "FUCK! YOU! ASSHOLE!" as he banged on the horn. Ann sighed and face palmed. The man fled, cursing the two and getting back into his car. Ann drove out of the parking lot and Larie gave the guy the finger one last time before he gently tapped her shoulder and offered his hand. She sighed and took it. They held hands all the way home, both of their hands feeling tingly.

.

.

.

When they got to the trailer park, Larie let go of Ann's hand, "Thanks, Double-N."

"It was my pleasure, Larie." She said. Larie looked at the trailer, then at the hospital bracelet, he took out his pocket knife and cut it off and handed it to her, "I didn't make it or anything, but I want you to have it anyway." He said, handing it to her. She smiled, "Thank you, Larie. Good night."

"Good night." He said, hopping out of the van with a wave. Ann waved back and drove out of the trailer park.

Larie opened the door and saw his brothers waiting for him on the couch. Tee looked at Jay, "Tell him what you told me." Jay nodded, "Larie, I don't have feelings for your girl or anything, it's just, it was the first time a girl ever accepted my feelings and was nice enough to return them, it was just for a day and then we both came to our senses." Larie sighed and ruffled his brother's hair, "It's all good, Jay, Tee was right, I just needed a walk."

.

.

.

The next day was dress rehearsals, Double-N came in late because she had a doctor's appointment, she arrived backstage as Larie, Nate, and Jenny, An, and Jay were onstage discussing who An should marry. Rachel and Anny helped her change into her costume, leaving her things with the other Ans' stuff. She finished getting dressed as Nate, Jenny and Larie exited for An and Jay to make their plan and rushed out for her cue. Nate helped Jay and Tee ready the props for the next scene while Anny, Rachel and Jenny helped Karen with one of her many costumes, Sam and Jamie had just arrived and began changing into their costumes. (Sam was playing the kid Anny and Tee were fighting over and Jamie was going to be in the theater troupe performing for Rachel and Nate's fake wedding that they would share with An & Jay and Ann & Larie) Larie snuck past them so he could go to take a dump before his scene with Double-N, when he noticed something shining in her hat, he glanced around to make sure no one was looking then peaked inside to see his hospital bracelet from last night with the bent stud still sticking through it tucked inside, Jay's old card was nowhere to be seen. He smiled and ran off to the bathroom.

.

.

.

Tee was nervous, he had three long scenes, one after another, in different costumes. He'd start as Bottom (minus the fucking donkey head) then after he did an entire fucking act then he'd get to do his scene with Anny as the king of the fairies. He glanced over at her, she was now helping Jenny get into her costume for the next scene and was asking how the fuck Jenny managed to put clothes on with her big fat round head.

He had no idea what it was about her, but she drove him _crazy_. If he looked at his brothers and their Ans, it made perfect sense;

Jay loved An because they were so alike and Larie loved Double-N because they were so different. So then, why the fuck did he love Anny?

Was it because she challenged him? His brothers did too but he always won, but he could never really hurt her like he could hurt them. So he guessed that it was because even though she was afraid of him, she still had the courage to tell him to fuck off. For some reason he really liked the fact that she didn't put up with anyone's shit. But then again, he had always liked challenges.

The curtain closed and everyone scrambled to set the stage up for scene two. He helped get the stage set up with everyone else and then run off to start the scene.

When the curtain opened he went on stage with everyone else, but for some reason, he had a harder time remembering his lines when he wasn't doing a scene with Anny, he had to stop and have the line re-read to him by Double-N three times before Anny yelled the line that was just said that he had to reply to. Then he remembered it instantly. He finished up his scene and walked backstage to change into his other costume.

"What the fuck was that?" Anny demanded, "You're fine when I have to practice with you but if I'm not in the scene, you can't remember your damn lines?"

"I guess so." Tee said, feeling a bit upset about it himself. Anny stormed off and grabbed her friends and the three huddled, whispering something then the three nodded, Double N said, "It should work, Anny, should this problem persist. An?" An looked at Double-N blankly, "You need to remember this plan, if you do, I'll make you a pudding skin when we get home." An's blank look blasted into a humongous smile, "PUDDING SKIN! YUM YUM YUM!" she cried, hugging Double-N and Anny.

Tee and Anny did their scene, then she left, and he couldn't remember his lines again.

"Oh for crying out loud!" Anny shouted, then dragged An out onto the stage and whispered in her ear and handed her a marker, An nodded, grabbed his hand and began scribbling until there was a drawing of Anny screaming on his hand.

"Now do it right already!" she snapped, dragging her friend back off stage. Jenny gave him the line again, he looked at his hand and remembered the line instantly.

Then Larie and Double-N came in, did their bit and left, he looked at his hand and remembered everything he needed to say. When he got off stage, he smiled at Anny, "Looks like you're my good luck charm, huh, Anny?" he teased, showing her his hand.

"Whatever," she scoffed, "Just wash that off when you get home and we'll redo it for tomorrow's play."

Tee was surprised, "You're okay with being my good luck charm?"

"NO!" she snapped, "But I don't want you fucking up everyone else's hard work, so if An has to draw my face on your hand so you remember your fucking lines, I'll deal with it."

"Oh." Tee was stunned, "Thanks, Anny." He then stood there for a second, 'Did I just thank her without an ounce of sarcasm?' he asked himself.

"What did you just say?" Anny asked, completely confused by his words and looking a little weirded out.

"I said…"

"Anny! You're up next! Tee, you too!" Double-N reminded them as she raced by to set up the props for the next act, Larie right behind her. Jay gently poked Double-N on the back, startling her, "What is it, Jay?"

"For the scene with me chasing you around like I'm in love with you and stuff, I don't think I can do it." he said. Double-N opened her mouth to say something, but Larie stopped her with a hand.

"I've got this," Larie said, patting Double-N on the shoulder, "Jay, just pretend that the only thing between you and An is Double-N, because she's worried that you aren't enough for her and you have to tell her why you love An so much and how you'll love her before you can have her."

"Hey! That's a good idea, Larie!" Jay said, "Thanks!" he ran off to tell An.

"That _was_ very good idea, Larie." Double-N agreed.

"Yeah, well, I knew you'd say something like how he could pretend you were An. I may not be pissed about the sock and card thing anymore, but I'm not okay with him coming after you like he does with An. Only _I_ can chase you around for your affections."

"I'll keep that in mind, Larie." Double-N said, smiling and shaking her head.

.

.

.

"An!" Jay called, An was chatting with her brother when he arrived, "What do you want, Jay?" Sam asked rudely. "Sam! You're do on set soon, take your place!" Double-N called, Sam's face brightened, "Coming Double-N!" he said, a bit of a skip in his step.

"So what did you want to say, Jay?" An asked him. "Larie told me how I could do the scene with Double-N!" he cried, then explained it to her, "Is that okay with you?"

"It's okey dokey with me." An said with her usual goofy grin, then she looked at him, concerned, "Why do you ask?"

"Because I don't want you to get mad at me for hitting on Double-N, I want you to know that my heart belongs to only you."

An smiled, "Okay." She said, patting him on the head, Jay gently took her hand and held it. "I mean it." he said, blushing, "It does only belong to you." An turned pink.

"An! Jay! We're on soon!" Double-N called. Jay and An smiled and dashed towards the others.

.

.

.

They got through most of the play without much trouble, Anny had a hard time not laughing and pretending to seriously be in love with Tee when he had the donkey head on, but other then that, it was smooth sailing until it Nate cried, "Go, bid the huntsmen wake them with their horns," Rachel, Karen, Jenny, Jamie and Sam beside him as he indicated Jay, An, Larie and Double-N who were feigning sleep on a green pillow. Larie had grabbed Double-N's hand before the curtain had risen, hiding it so neither the audience nor the rest of the cast could see. Neither one had let go. An and Jay snored for real beside them, An was drooling and cuddling beside Jay, who had an enormous smile on his face as An drooled all over him. Karen walked up to the four on the green pillow and blasted her horn into their ears, causing the four to yelp in panic _and_ pain, covering their ears and leap from the pillow and crash onto the floor. Karen laughed. Anny stomped out on stage, Tee right behind her, both fuming.

"What is your problem?" Anny asked.

"What? He told me to wake them with my horn, so I woke them." Karen said innocently.

"What?" An asked, her ears still ringing from the blast of the horn, "Hello?"

"What'd you say?" Jay asked her, wiggling his pinky in his ear to try to get the ringing to stop, "Huh?"

"You didn't have to blast us across the stage!" Double-N said, shaking as Larie helped her up, "Thank you, Larie."

Larie nodded and said, "Just because the Ans got the better parts then you doesn't mean you can act like a bitch to them."

An and Jay seemed to shake their ears clear of the ringing sound and nodded.

"Careful, Larie, Double-N might actually fall for Jay like she did four years ago." Karen snapped. Larie's fists clenched and his face was turning purple with rage. Anny began cracking her knuckles and An opened her mouth to speak but Double-N stopped them with a hand, then began to speak nonchalantly to Karen as she dusted herself off, "You know, Karen, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you were upset about Tee needing Anny's face on his hand to remember his lines instead of your own. Now, I could be simply speculating, but could it be that you pick solely on me about that incident, that, everyone present here had been caught up in, except for Rachel, of course, because you're jealous that I've had two Kankers fall for me when you can't even get one to look your way?" Karen's jaw dropped as the other cul-de-sac kids looked at Double-N, amazed and amused. Jay, Anny, Tee and An's faces lit up with gleeful amazement and Larie was crimson in the face and smiling widely, his eyes bright with admiration as Double-N went on to say, "Don't feel so bad about it, Karen, after all, An can always draw his face on your hand." An and Anny were trying to hold back their chuckles, but it still spread to everyone else fairly quickly.

Karen set her jaw and glared at Double-N, ready to send her flying with a good right hook, "Why you…"

"Now," Double-N said, clapping her hands, "Let's try the scene again, but this time we do it without you launching us across the stage."

"And what if I don't?" Karen growled, shoving her face into Double-N's, daring her to challenge her.

"Then I shall simply have to grab Tee's donkey head for you to borrow so you can clarify to the audience what you are." Double-N said coolly. It was silent for a minute then An and Anny finally burst out laughing, "You just got burned by Double-N!" Anny cried through tears of laughter. Then everyone began to laugh. Karen glared at Double-N, who curtsied and then motioned for Larie, An and Jay to follow her back to the green pillow. As everyone else made their way back to their places, Rachel looked at Karen and said, "She got you good, yes?" Karen let out a squeak of anger before returning to where she had stood earlier so Nate could say the line again.

.

.

.

On the car ride home Anny was still laughing as she steered the van back to the cul-de-sac, "_Did you see the look on her face when you basically called her an ass!"_ Anny breathed in-between bouts of laughter "_PRICELESS!_" She shrieked.

"I didn't know you could do that, Double-N." An said between chuckles.

"Yes, well, even someone like me can be sassy if need be, An." Double-N said, embarrassed.

"Sassy?" Anny asked, her eyes bright with glee, "You were more then sassy, you were…"

"…Fiesty as fuck!" Larie said excitedly from the passenger's seat as Tee navigated their pick up back to the trailer park. "Hot Damn, that was hot!" he went on, his eyes bright with admiration for Double-N. "Did you see Karen's face when Double-N basically called her an ass?" Jay asked, still laughing.

"Yeah! It was Priceless!" Larie shouted. Then he and Jay laughed and banged on the car with their fists, letting out partial sentences then laughing at how ridiculous they sounded.

"Yeah, I know, I was there, too." Tee said, rolling his eyes at his brothers, he glanced down at his hand, which still had An's drawing of a Anny's screaming head on it. He smiled, even though Anny had basically insulted him and berated him, she still helped him with his odd problem of forgetting his lines when she wasn't on stage with him. Anny had told him that it was Double-N's idea, but Tee knew better. Through out most of the time they spent setting the play up and practicing, Tee thought that they were only in this so they could get their girls, but after what happened that day, he realized that the Ans were right when they said doing the play was a fun experience, and he almost felt bad about how he and his brothers almost ruined it for them. Almost. He was still kinda proud of all the ways they caught the girls over the course of that first week.

.

.

.

The next night was opening night, everyone was getting ready and changed and prepping everything. An was braiding Double-N's long black hair so they could place white violets in it when it was complete, while Anny helped her with her make-up. Double-N had already helped An with her hair and Anny with her make-up. An and Double-N worked together to style Anny's hair so it still looked good with her fancy flower crown. Double-N's dress was spotless, her flower crown sat in her hands that she had lying in her lap as she waited for her friends to finish.

An wore her daisy crown and her toga-style dress was spotless (thanks to Double-N cleaning it for her the night before and not letting her have it back until it was time) her own red hair was loose and there was a daisy tucked behind her left ear, she pushed her glasses back up her nose as she continued to braid Double-N's long hair.

Anny's robes were spotless (again, thanks to Double-N) she had extensions that matched her hair and it was curled and cascaded down her back, with flowers embedded into the pink hair that fell down to her shoulders. Her crown sat perfectly on her head, her wings had been put on in a way that hid the shoulder straps that held them on. Her make-up was perfectly applied, she had much more on then An or Double-N, but she looked good. She snapped at Double-N to not move while she put the finishing touches on her make-up. Double-N's braid winded down to her butt, with white violets placed sporadically in the braid, her make up was light but brought out her features, just like An's.

"Curtain in ten!" Jenny called. An and Anny finished Double-N's hair and make-up and Double-N put her flower crown on her head. The girls held hands, "Well, ladies, this is it." Double-N said, excited, "All our hard work has culminated to this point."

"We're gonna blow their minds." Anny said.

"Break a leg!" An cried, letting go of her friend's hands and hugging them.

.

.

.

The first scene was breezing by, Tee and the others were to go out to chat about the play within a play any moment now, he looked down at his Anny-hand, only to see that it was all smudged from his hands sweating so much. He quickly found Anny and told her what was wrong.

"Well An can't re-draw it right this second, she's on stage!" Anny said, annoyed that he was so nervous.

"Well what am I supposed to do?" he asked nervously, "I can't remember my lines without you!" Anny blushed, "I have an idea," she said, motioning him to follow her towards the props. Tee followed her around a corner of a piece of the set only for her to grab him and pull him behind it. She grabbed his hand and kissed his palm, much to his surprise. His face turned red and his heart was going crazy, "Anny?"

"There, my mouth was on it!" she hissed, throwing his hand back at him, "Now you should still remember your damn lines and not fuck everything up!" She was scowling, but she was also blushing, but if it was because she was embarrassed or because she liked it, he had no idea. _He_ had certainly liked it.

"T-thanks Anny." He managed, his face as red as his hair. She glared at him, "If you ever tell anyone about this, _I'll murder you_." She growled, then stomped past him, still red in the face. Tee looked at his hand and smiled.

"Tee!" Nate called, "You're up soon, dude!" Tee nodded and watched as Double-N wrapped up scene one;

"I will go tell him of fair Hermia's flight, Then to the wood will he to-morrow night Pursue her, and for this intelligence If I have thanks, it is a dear expense, But herein mean I to enrich my pain, To have his sight thither and back again." Double-N recited, looking a bit guilty as she pretended to betray her friend.

Tee then helped move a few props around for scene two of act one and looked upon the others, ready to begin the scene.

"Is all our company found?" Karen asked him. Tee clenched his fist, his heart skipping a beat as he remembered Anny's lips kissing it, "You were best to call them generally, man by man, according to the script." He said with no hesitation or problems remembering the line. They went through the scene, he glanced back at Anny, who actually looked of proud of him, and even a bit relieved that her plan worked.

"Enough, hold or cut bow-strings." He said, ending Act 1. The curtain fell and he ran to throw his robe over his brown toga and put the rest of his Oberon costume. The others scurried to quickly change or help others change, not noticing Anny walk over and stand near him.

"I didn't fuck up." He informed her, as he pulled the fairy wings on. He hated the freaking fairy wings, but at least it wasn't as bad as the donkey head, he was having a hard time getting one on, so Anny snatched it and put it on him, "Yeah, I saw that, dumbass." She said, then she turned pink, "Keep up the good work, Tee." She said quickly. Tee looked up at her, shocked and blushing, Anny scowled at him, "Cause if you mess this up, I'll _end_ you." She said loud enough for the others to hear her. She then stormed away, scooping a heavy prop that Double-N and An were moving and told them to hurry up before the curtain rose. Tee plopped his Oberon crown on and smiled.

The scene opened with Jamie and Jenny chatting. Then Tee, Anny and Sam arrived as Jaime fled the stage towards Rachel, who signaled her to come and get ready for her next scene. When Anny stormed off the stage, dragging Sam with her. Double-N and Larie came out, Double-N begging for him to love her back while Larie scoffed at the idea, using every bit of his willpower to not just pounce on her in front of everyone. When he finally walked away from her and was out of plain sight of the audience, he began shaking violently, Jay grabbed his arms and made him look him in the eye so he could calm him down, "It's just a little longer, Larie, you can do it! In a little while, you can pursue her again, just wait, okay?" Then Double-N said her last line of the scene and dashed after him and saw what was happening, she sighed and walked over, patting Larie on the back, "Jay, I've got him, you and An are going up soon, can you go find her and bring her here please?" She said, leading Larie to a chair to sit down. Jay nodded and dashed off to find her.

"I can't…" Larie said shaking, "I can't hold out much longer." Double-N rolled her eyes and sat down beside him and took his hand in hers and intertwined their fingers. "You're ridiculous." She sighed.

"And you're lucky I'm behaving myself or I would have made a perverted joke using that word." Larie said, calming down a bit as they held hands.

"Yes," Double-N relented with a smile, "Yes, I am."

.

.

.

Jay found An shaking, curled up in a ball on the floor, "I can't do this." An said, close to tears, "I'm not Anny or Double-N, I'm not smart or good at acting!" Jay took her hand, "What are you talking about, An?" he asked, "You're doing great!" An shook her head, sniffling, pulling her hand back. Jay took a deep breath and pulled An up off the pillow and held her close, "Remember what Double-N said when she saw what you got? She said she was _proud_ of you. So was Anny…" he smiled at her, "I'm not very smart, and I'm not a very good actor but I know how I feel about you and I think that's how I got this part." He wiped at a tear threatening to fall, "I guess what I'm trying to say, is that we need you, An. So if you can't do this for yourself, do it for Anny and Double-N and everyone… And me." An smiled and hugged him, "Thank you, Jay." She said, Jay felt his face flush and his heart beat as if someone was using his heart to do a drum solo.

"Come on, we're up next." Jay said, pulling her towards the stage.

After Tee pretended to squeeze a flower over Anny's eyes while she pretended to sleep on a smaller green pillow and said his lines, An and Jay hopped out and chatted a bit, then pretended to fall asleep on the same giant green pillow that Karen had launched them off of the day before. They pretend to sleep, then Jenny pretends to squeeze another flower over Jay's eyes then dashes off stage as Larie and Double-N come on stage, again Double-N wishes to be with Larie and Larie pushes her away, as soon as he walks off stage without her, he bites his lip and groans. "Just a bit longer, just a bit longer." He reminded himself, then he pressed the heart on the bottom of his stud into his mouth, he felt warmth spread through his body again and he calmed down a bit. Jay 'woke up' and started hitting on Double-N, who thinks he's making fun of her and pretends to get upset and stomp off stage to join Larie. Jay then tells the audience how he's basically gonna ditch An and runs off to join Double-N and Larie. Then An pretends to wake up, and ends act two with her lines;

"Lysander! What, removed? Lysander! Lord! What, out of hearing? Gone? No sound, no word? Alack, where are you speak, an if you hear, Speak, of all loves! I swoon almost with fear. No? then I well perceive you all not nigh Either death or you I'll find immediately." Then she gets up and dashes over to the others. As the curtain closes on Act 2. Everyone runs around getting the props and set changed again and Tee has to change into his Bottom costume again, so he practically rips off his Oberon costume and grabs the Donkey head and hands it to An, who freaks out for a second that there is a dismembered head in her hands until Double-N takes it from her.

Anny then lies down on her smaller green pillow as Tee, Jenny, Karen, Nate, Jamie and Sam dash around trying to get their play within the play set up, dashing on and off stage, tossing on costume bits until Double-N shoves the donkey head on Tee and he dashes out behind Jamie and says "If I were fair, Thisby, I were only thine." Jamie then shouts, "O monstrous! O strange! We are haunted. Pray, masters! Fly, masters! Help!" she shouts running away, a few more people see Tee with his donkey head and run away. Tee then begins to sing horribly and Anny pretends to wake, "What angel wakes me from my flowery bed?" she asked, hiding her distain for his singing very well, then sees Tee, wearing the donkey head and singing like an idiot. Double-N and An grab each others hands, "Please don't laugh." Double-N begs, "at least not hard" An adds.

Anny doesn't laugh at all, and pretends to be attracted to him, then they both leave the stage and everyone helps Tee change back into his Oberon costume for the next scene and he and Jenny dash out, Tee a bit out of breath. They chat for a bit then An and Larie dash out arguing, Larie tries to convince An to love him, she refuses. An leaves then Larie, who decides to 'fall asleep' on the big green pillow. Tee tells Jenny to make Larie fall in love with Double-N too. Then he leaves, with Jenny right behind him after pretending to squeeze the flower over Larie's eyes as well. Then Double-N comes in with Jay right behind her, Jay proclaiming his 'love' while Double-N scolds him for making fun of her.

Larie 'wakes' and proclaims his love for Double-N, she blushes but gets even more upset, saying that they are making fun of her. An comes in and she asks Jay why he left, he said he fell in love with Double-N, Double-N declares that An probably asked them to tease her. All four argue for a bit then the boys leave, then An and Double-N have a bit of a spat, with Double-N running off stage for An to look at the audience and once again, say, "I am amazed and know not what to say." Then hops off stage with the others, Jenny and Tee come back out and Tee yells at Jenny for messing up and tells her to fix it.

Then Tee leaves. Jay comes out and challenges Larie, Jenny tells him to go one way for a fight, Jay runs off stage, his fake sword drawn. Larie comes out next and Jenny does the same thing, Larie runs off stage with his fake sword drawn. Jay comes back, gets tired, 'falls asleep' on the green pillow. Larie comes back, gets tired, 'falls asleep' on the same pillow. Double-N runs in and says the line she did at rehearsals then 'sleeps' on the pillow, Larie holds her hand on the pillow again. Jenny waits until An runs in and falls asleep on the pillow, Jenny fixes what she did and they pull the curtain so they can take a break. Everyone sighs then gets ready for scene four, which starts with Anny, her fairies, and Bottom, but Oberon is also in the scene, so while Tee is Oberon, Nate tosses on the donkey head and throws on the spare Bottom costume and covers for Tee. The curtain rises and Jenny and Tee hide behind a tree while Anny, Nate and the others do their scene, then 'sleep', Jenny and Tee then wake Anny and reveals that she fell in love with a guy with an ass for a head, with the pillow hiding Nate's face and hair, Jenny removes the head and Tee and Anny leave.

(The fairies quickly drag Nate and the pillow off stage and Nate tosses the Bottom costume off, while the others toss away their fairy costumes for the ones underneath.) then they come back out, for a hunt. And find An, Double-N, Jay and Larie on the pillow, Larie and Double-N feign sleep while An and Jay _are actually asleep_. Nate bids the huntsmen wake them with their horns, luckily Karen doesn't blast them out of the pillow again, but she does wake An and Jay with a start. Jay then explains what he and An we doing in the woods, then Larie explains that while he went in for An, he found himself loving Double-N instead. Nate declares that all three couples (him and Rachel) shall be wed. They all leave, then Tee, who slipped off the Oberon costume and slipped into the smaller green pillow and pretended to wake up, confused. Then Tee re-finds his troope and they perform (rather badly) for the three couples. Then the play is over and everyone comes out to take a bow as the audience enthusiastically applauded.

That's when, to the Ans surprise, the Kankers each grab them and kiss them on stage in front of everyone, hoots and hollers come from the crowd as the Ans are then dragged off stage by the Kankers. The others onstage sigh and shake their heads.

"No!" An cried.

"Oh my!" Ann exclaimed.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Anny shouted.

"We said we'd wait until _after_ the play." Tee reminded them.

.

.

.

Once the Kankers were done, they went to the boys changing room to change back to their regular clothes, all looking quite pleased with themselves and a little relieved.

"Man I missed that." Larie said.

"Feels good to get back to our usual routine." Tee agreed.

"I can't wait to do it again tomorrow!" Jay cried.

When the Kankers entered the boys changing rooms, the Ans emerged from backstage to the girls changing rooms to change back into their regular clothes, the three of them covered in hickeys.

"Freaking Kankers." Anny mumbled.

"Just when I was getting used to it…" Double-N lamented.

"I was in my happy place, Double-N!" An sobbed, "Then the Kankers took it away!"

"We know, An, we know." Double-N said, patting her arm as they went inside.

.

.

.

After the play and the Kankers' little surprise at the end, the girls were given bouquets from their parents and received tons of praise for their performances. Then each girl went to go home with their parents and said good bye to the others before leaving, but the Kankers were no where to be found.

.

Anny walked to her parents' car, a bit of a skip in her step. She had been praised and admired tonight, despite the crap the Kankers had pulled, she and her friends had been the center of attention and they had pulled it off. She wondered what she should try out for next. Double-N said Shakespearean Actors were very respected, maybe she should try out for another one? She happily considered all her options as she walked to the car.

"Hey, Anny." Tee called, running up to her. Anny stopped, surprised he said 'hey' instead of 'hiya.'

"What do you want, Kanker?" she asked him, crossing her arms, one holding the pink Gerber Daisy bouquet from her parents, as he finally reached her, he had one hand behind his back and he rubbed the back of his head, avoiding eye contact with her.

"I just wanted to say, thanks for your help back there." He said, blushing, "I _would've_ probably made an ass of myself if you hadn't helped me."

Anny opened her mouth.

"Yeah, I know, head of an ass, it's funny to you, I get it." Tee said, rolling his eyes.

"I was going to say 'no shit', but yeah it is pretty funny." Anny smirked. Tee turned as red as his hair and shoved a red rose into her hand, "Thanks. And you did a real good job." He said, then walked away. Anny sighed, pink in the face, "Hey Tee." He turned around. "You did a pretty good job yourself." She said, "But if you tell anyone I said that, I'll deny it."

He smiled, "I'll take it." she put the rose in her bouquet and then walked to her parents car, smiling at the pink flowers, but focusing on the red rose despite herself.

.

Double-N held a bouquet of lilacs and white roses, she was just happy that her parents were able to attend, but the flowers were a lovely surprise. She was walking carefully to her parents car when she heard someone following her, she turned to see Larie, who was reaching out with one hand with the other behind his back. He flushed and pulled his hand back, "Uh, hey." Double-N rolled her eyes and walked to him and carefully took his hand, lacing her fingers between his, "If you wanted to do this, all you had to do was ask." She said with a soft smile. He smiled, "Actually, I just wanted to tell you that you did great and uh…" he held out a blue iris, "Yeah…" he said, slipping it into her bouquet "But I appreciate this." He said, indicating his hand in hers. She blushed and let her hand slip from his, "Oh, well, thank you Larie. And might I say your performance was wonderful…" He held her hand in his, "Thanks." He said, then he kissed her forehead, letting the heart shaped stud on the bottom of his tongue touch her forehead, and let go of her hand, "See ya, Muffin." He said, shoving his hands into his jacket pockets and walking away, gently pressing the heart down into his mouth and feeling his heart soar. Double-N gently touched her forehead, blushing. "Oh my." She said, her heart beating wildly in her chest.

.

An happily skipped to the car, where her parents and Sam were waiting for her. Her parents had brought her a bouquet of orange flowers, Double-N told her that they were called 'tiger lilies.' She liked them, they were pretty and they smelled nice. She had done well, even Sam had said she had been great. Which from her little brother, was a huge compliment. Her friends were so proud of her and maybe one day she could be in a horror film as the heroine. The thought made her start humming.

"An! Wait!" An turned to see Jay running up to her, a daffodil in his hand, "Here, it's for you!" he said, handing it to her, his face red and smiling, his buck teeth biting into his lip, then he said, "You were really great, An. I don't know what you were worried about…" But An had pulled him into a kiss on the lips, much to his shock and glee, his heart was going a mile a second, steam was screaming from his ears. His face was glowing red, his whole body relaxed, his hair curled, he began floating off the ground. She stopped then gave him a hug, "Thanks, Jay, you're the best boyfriend ever!" An said, then skipped to her parents' car, where her brother was screaming for her to hurry up, not knowing what she had just did. Jay had a huge goofy smile on his face, "Best. Night. Ever." Jenny walked past him, shaking her head, "You'd think the others would've figured out that you two started dating last month." She said.


	3. Shake, Rattle, and An

(again, Thanks Peachy for the name change info)

The party was in full swing, the host, Nate, was drunk out of his mind and streaking across his own front yard, "FUCK YEAH, MOTHA FUCKAS! I'M SEXY AS FUCK!" he shouted as he ran around his house. The Ans glanced outside the window, Anny enjoyed the view and purred, "Yeah you are." Ann covered her eyes and cried, "GOOD LORD! WHY IS HE NAKED?" An squinted at the window, trying to look past Nate into the street. Anny and Ann noticed her staring intently out the window, "An!" Double-N scolded, "Stop staring!" An looked at her friends, a bit upset, "But if I don't keep watch, I might miss my boyfriend."

"Boyfriend?" the other two Ans asked, stunned. Jenny passed them, drink in hand and hiccupping, wearing her bra on her head, "Hic! Yee-up. They've been… Hic! Dating for a… Hic! Month or so… Hic! Now…" she then rose her arms and shouted, "TOGA! TOGA! TOGA!" and ran away, Anny and Double-N looked at An in disbelief, Jenny slamming herself into a wall in the background, her head now stuck in the drywall.

"A _month_!" Anny cried, "You've been hiding this from us for a _month_!"

"An, why didn't you tell us?" Double-N asked, a bit hurt. An looked guiltily at her feet, "I thought you guys would not like him." She said in a soft voice as she made a figure eight with her foot, "And make me choose between him and you guys."

Anny and Double-N were stunned, "Why would you think we'd ever make you do that?" Anny asked, not sure if she was more insulted or hurt by An's words, "We're your best friends, Lumpy, we're not going to make you choose between him and us." She said.

"An, if this guy really makes you happy and cares about you, then do you think we'd ever ask you to give up that happiness just because we don't like him?" Double-N asked her, gently placing a hand on her shoulder. An's eyes swelled up with tears and she shook her head.

"That's right." Double-N said, "As long as you're happy and he treats you with love and respect, we'll always support your relationship." An pulled Anny and Double-N into a hug, sobbing, "YOU TWO ARE THE BEST!" she declared, then a car pulled up.

"IT'S HIM!" An cried, putting her friends down and dashing outside.

"Boy… Hic! Are you two… Hic! In for a… Hic! _Shock_." Jenny said, her head stuck in the wall. An burst back through, holding _Jay Kanker's hand_, his brothers right behind him, jeering, "I'm dating Jay!" An said happily, the two of them hugging. Anny and Double-N's jaws dropped. "An's dating a Kanker?" Anny asked in disbelief, pinching herself to see if she was in a bad dream. "Ow." She said, horrified, _this was really happening_. Double-N's eyes rolled into the back of her head and she fainted, Larie ran and caught her before she fell onto the floor.

"Wow, they took that better then I thought!" Jay said cheerfully to An, who nodded happily.

Larie and Tee face-palmed.

.

.

.

Double-N woke up, confused, rubbing the back of her head, recalling what An had just told them through a misty haze. "That was certainly a strange dream." She said, pulling herself into a sitting position.

"What dream?" Larie asked from behind her.

"One where An was dating Jay Kank…" she stopped and slowly turned around to see Larie Kanker sitting on a couch where she had just been lying down. "Kank…"

"Hiya, Muffin." He said with a devious smile, his tongue poking out _just_ enough for her to see the stud.

"Kanker!" she cried, leaping towards the other end of couch. "AN! ANNY!" she cried, then winced in pain, gripping her head.

"Easy, Double-N." He said, gently putting his hands on her shoulders, trying to keep her calm as An, Jay, Anny, and Tee arrived, looking concerned.

"What happened?" She asked, looking up at her friends, pleading for an explanation.

"You fainted after you heard the _good news_." Anny explained, Double-N held her head in her hands, "So that wasn't a dream?" she asked in disbelief.

"Nope!" An said happily, Jay's arm around her waist, "We're dating." Double-N felt dizzy again. "Okay, you two, Double-N's not feeling so hot, I've got her, you two go have fun." Larie said, pulling her towards him so she could lean on his shoulder, his arm around her huddled shoulders, her hands pressed against her temples, trying to find some sort of logic in the situation. Anny sat down besides them and Tee popped down on their other side. An and Jay joined a conga line and cheered with the others, laughing and having a great time.

"Sorry," Tee said, "I thought you two knew already." Anny and Double-N looked at him incredulously. "What?" he said.

"Of course we didn't know, fuck face!" Anny snapped, "I would've stopped it if I had known!" Tee looked ready to start a fight, and Anny was ready for one.

"Anny!" Double-N exclaimed, "You will do no such thing!" Anny, Larie and Tee looked her, surprised.

"Why not?" Anny demanded.

"Because An's relationship with him is none of our business!" Double-N scolded, "If An wants to date Jay, she has every right to do so, Anny!"

"But he's been terrorizing her for years!" Anny cried.

"Anny! We told An that we'd support her relationship, no matter what!" Double-N reminded, Anny winced at that. "And if Jay makes her happy, then we're happy _for her_." Anny made a face and looked down, Double-N was right. She didn't like it, but Double-N was right, it was An's decision. It was a _stupid_ decision, but it was An's to make. Anny then looked at Tee, her voice like venom, "Fine. But if your brother breaks her heart, I'll break his _everything_." She hissed.

"That I _will_ agree with." Double-N said, "as well as provide assistance."

"Understood." Tee and Larie said in unison, worried. Larie looked down at Double-N, "Need me to take you home? You fell kinda hard."

"No thank you, Larie, I appreciate the offer, though." She said, giving him an appreciative smile. He blushed, then asked, "Wanna dance?"

"Why certainly!" she said, Larie gently helped her up and walked her out onto the dance floor. He then held her hand and gently put his hand on her waist, Double-N put her free hand on his shoulder and said, "I didn't know you knew how to waltz!"

"What, just because I have blue hair and a tongue piercing, I can't know how to waltz?"

"Of course not! I just think that it's very impressive that you took the time to learn it, most people don't."

"Why? It's not as if it's hard. It's just, one, two, three, one, two, three…" he said as they danced. Then the two started to count, flirting and laughing as they seemed to float away. Anny looked at her friends, a bit envious of their fun. Tee looked at her, bit his lip, then said, "Hey, you wanna dance?"

She didn't say anything for a minute then she said, "No."

That was it, no insult, no reason, no swearing, just 'no.' Tee rose his eyebrows, "Anny, you okay?"

"I'm fine." She said, not looking at him, "I just don't want to dance. That's all."

A small smile spread into a wicked grin, "You _can't_ dance, can you Anny?" he teased. Anny stiffened not saying anything for a minute then said, "Of course I can dance, _asshole_, I just don't want to dance with a jerk like _you_."

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah, really." She said, not looking at him, her face turning red.

"What if I found someone else to dance with you, would you dance then?"

"I said _I don't want to dance_, okay?" she snapped, her eyes watering. Tee suddenly felt awful at the sight of her tears, "Okay, Anny, I'm sorry, okay?" Anny wiped at her face and looked back at her friends, "I don't want to dance." She repeated, her voice full of hurt.

Karen walked up to them, drunk, she hung over the couch, spilling her beer between them, "Aw, Anny's on the bench again." She slurred, then turned to Tee, "Her mom taught a dance class to all the girls in the cul-de-sac when we were like, five. Her sister was like, some dance prodigy or some shit, anyway, one day Anny was dancing with the rest of us and her sister told her that she was the worst dancer on the planet. And poor wittle Anny started crying, and Double-Neat freak and An the idiot trashed her for it. When her mom came out and they told her what her sister said. And, this is where it gets really fucked up, her mom said that her sister was right, she _was_ a bad dancer." Tears began falling down Anny's cheeks, "Anny hasn't danced since." Karen said, "Thank God for that, she really did _suck_." Anny punched Karen through the wall and dashed through the crowd, grabbing An and Double-N from Jay and Larie. Both Ans looked at Anny, their eyes widening as they realized she was crying, then looked back at Tee and Karen, both looking livid.

"Aw, they're mad." Karen said with a laugh. Rachel walked up to them, "Rachel thinks you've had one too many, Floppy-as-a-fish-out-of-water-Karen girl," she said, then dragged her away, "Rachel also thinks you said too much, yes?"

"My burps taste like vomit." Karen said, covering her mouth.

"You throw chunks of booze soaken scraps on the Daughter of a Shepherd and Rachel will give you a Three-Shoe-Beating!" Rachel snapped.

Larie and Jay stomped up to him, pissed, "What the fuck, Tee?" Larie demanded. Jay's face was red and full of hurt.

"I didn't know." He said, feeling horrible. In all the time he'd known Anny, he'd only ever seen her cry once, and that was at Mondo-A-Go-Go, when she revealed that she lied about her sister being awesome, that her sister was actually a huge bully and would beat the crap out of her every time she saw her. That she only told everyone that stuff because she wanted everyone to think she was cool. Never, in all his years of teasing her had he _ever_ made her cry, and now that he did, all he wanted to do was kick himself. "I just asked her if she didn't know how to dance…"

"You…Hic! Shouldn't have…Hic! Done that… Hic!" Jenny said, "She was…Hic! Traumatized after her…Hic! Sister and… Hic! Mother said… Hic! that she was a bad dancer… Hic! Because all she… Hic! Wanted to… Hic! Be was a dancer…Hic! Like her sister…Hic! It broke her heart… Hic! She… Hic! Loved to dance… Hic! But now she's… Hic! Too afraid to try…Hic! Again." Jenny explained, her eyes dazed.

Larie and Jay glared at their brother, "Great, thanks for ruining not only her night and your night, but ours too!" Larie snapped. "I was at a party _with An as my girlfriend_." Jay said, his hurt radiating in his voice, "And Anny and Double-N had _accepted us_! It was supposed to be my dream come true, and you _fucked it up_!" Larie and Tee craned their necks a bit when they heard Jay swear. Larie and Tee could and would swear up a fucking storm in a heart beat, and not give two shits about it, but Jay hardly _ever_ swore, fearful that he might scare An away if he swore in her presence.

Jay stomped back to the truck, tears pooling in the corners of his eyes. Larie shook his head at his brother, "It's bad enough you made your girl cry, but also your _brother_?" He followed Jay to the car, Tee pulled himself up, which was difficult because he felt as if he was made of lead, and followed them, dragging his feet and wishing he had just kept his damn mouth shut and let her watch them dance.

.

.

.

At Anny's house, An and Double-N were comforting a sobbing Anny. She had reached the point where she had stopped making any sense, so An and Double-N just cooed compliments as they cooled her red face with ice packs, doing her hair beautifully and just stayed by her side. An and Double-N called their parents and let them know that they were staying the night, even though the next day was a school day, they said their friend needed them and they would not abandon her. So their parents dropped off their stuff and even brought snacks for them to munch on while watching a Millionaire Matchmaker Marathon on TV. Eventually, Anny calmed down.

"Fucking Claire." She sniffled, "Fucking Tee. I said I didn't want to dance…"

"We know Anny." Double-N said, rubbing her back, An hugged her and petted her head. Anny gave her friends a watery smile and hugged them. The three fell asleep side by side on Anny's bed, holding hands with Anny in the middle.

.

.

.

Tee couldn't sleep. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw her crying again, running to grab her friends, who as soon as they saw her tears, they glared at him, eyes filled with a rage he thought impossible from kind, gentle girls like An and Double-N.

"Fuck." He groaned, covering his head with his pillow. How could he fix this? Normally if he took it too far, either an opportunity came up that gave him a chance to make up for his fuck ups or he found one himself, usually though, he relied on chance to save his stupid ass. He closed his eyes and prayed to whoever was up there who'd help him to give him a chance to fix this, "I know I screwed up royally this time, but I want to make it right… I _need_ to." He whispered, "please."

.

.

.

The next day most of the kids who were at the party the night before, like Nate and Karen, had enormous hangovers, leaning on everything, hissing at the sun and snapping at anyone who dared to make a sound. Then there were people like Jenny, who probably drank more then Karen and Nate combined, who were completely fine and dandy. Rachel, the Ans and the Kankers hadn't drank that night, so they were fine. Anny's face was still a little red from crying most of the night, despite her friends' attempts to stop the swelling with ice, but anyone who even tried to comment on it were silenced by An and Double-N's dark glares. Karen wore sunglasses and opened her locker, noticing Anny's red face, she smirked, "I guess the truth sucks, huh Anny?" She said, feeling a bit bitchy having to come to school when she was hung over. Double-N and An, armed with air-horns and earplugs (also putting one set of earplugs on Anny's head) got on either side of Karen and blasted the air horns in each ear, Karen screamed and fell to the ground.

"That's for last night!" Double-N shouted into one ear.

"YOU CROSSED THE LINE!" An screamed into the other ear. Karen fainted from pain, An and Double-N walked back over to Anny, removed all their earplugs and walked her to her next class, not knowing the Kankers had been watching.

"Did that turn anyone else on?" Larie asked, smiling.

"No." Tee said, a bit creeped out.

"A little." Jay admitted. Tee looked at him, concerned, while Larie smiled and held a fist towards his brother. Jay barely touched it with his own, embarrassed.

"How am I supposed to get through _that_?" Tee asked, indicating the over-protective An pair who were chatting with Anny about some show they watched the night before and laughing.

"I don't think you can." Jay said.

"Maybe instead of trying to avoid them, you should try getting them on your side?" Larie suggested, "I mean, those two are her best friends, if there's anyone who knows Anny the best, it's them." Jay and Tee nodded in agreement.

.

.

.

Double-N was in a science lab, doing a set of tests on reactions for various acids and bases, her hair pulled back into a ponytail, wearing gloves, goggles and a lab coat. Larie goes up to talk to her, "Hey Double-N." he said. Double-N jumps, her hands shaking, one of the clutching a vial with black powder in it, when she turns to see who it is, she's surprised to see Larie behind her.

"Oh, hello Larie, something I can help you with?" she said, putting the vials down into a holder. Several half filled beakers sat on the lab table, labeled with letters from the alphabet. A half empty notebook sat in front of her, a pencil lay on top, waiting for Double-N to fill the page with information.

"Yeah, um, it's about last night…"

"Larie, if you're going to talk to me, you might want to put on some safety gear, I'm working with acids here." She said, indicating the beakers. Larie put on the safety gear and sat down next to her, "I wanna talk about last night."

She looked at him, "What about last night?" she asked stiffly, Larie sensed she was getting a bit defensive. It was understandable, after all, she was like the mother of the group, and while she wasn't the kind of who would pick a fight, she wasn't the kind who would accept people harming her friends, nor easily forgive anyone for doing that.

"Look, I know you're upset about what happened to Anny last night, but we wanna help, can you please just talk to me?"

She looked at him, trying to see if he was lying, finally she sighed, "What do you want to know?"

"How Tee can make it up to her."

Double-N looked at him, sympathetically, "It's not that simple, Larie. It's not just Tee. It's Karen, it's Anny's sister, it's Anny's mother, it's the fact that the two people she admired most at the time basically said she wasn't good enough at something she loved and broke her heart. The trauma started with those two, but since the rest of us girls were there, it leaked out onto us, so she'd undergo the pain and heartbreak every time one of us mentioned it. All of us _swore_ we would _never_ talk about it ever again. And honestly, she has tried to dance again a few times over the years," Double-N sighed as she dropped a small chunk of black metal into one of the beakers and the metal sparked away into nothing as she said, "but the words that five year old girl heard cut deep, Larie, deep enough to make the most stubborn person I know stop doing what she loved to do. Tee can't just snap his fingers and heal_ years_ of psychological pain like that."

"But there's gotta be something, right?" he asked her. Double-N scribbled something down on the page, "There are two ways, but both are way too risky, it would most likely make her pain worse instead of better."

"What is it?"

Double-N looked at him plainly, "Well either you'd have to get her mom and sister to say that they were really jealous of her talent and that they lied to her all those years ago, which is pretty much impossible because _they're just as_ _if not more stubborn then Anny_."

"Or?" Larie urged her, Double-N dropped another bit of black stuff into a different beaker, it sparked brighter and longer then the last one, "Or Tee would have to somehow convince her to learn how to dance again, but that could easily backfire and make it a million times worse." She said, writing down the reaction she had got and the duration of it, "and besides, An and I have already tried that and it didn't work. I think the only way Tee could convince her to do that is to challenge her somehow, but in her current state, that could end badly, so you'd have to be cautious."

"Thanks, Double-N," Larie said, giving her a kiss on the cheek, making sure the heart on the bottom of his stud touched her skin after he kissed her. Double-N turned a cute shade of pink, then Larie clapped his hands, "So, can I try putting that black stuff in the beaker to make it spark?" Double-N smiled and rolled her eyes, "Sure." She relented, "Just not too much or you'll blow us both sky high."

"Seriously?" he asked, excitedly, "Who knew science could be so fucking awesome?"

Double-N smiled, "If you think this is awesome, then you'll _love_ what I'm working on at home."

"Is that an invitation?" he asked hopefully.

"Well, in a way…" she said, blushing and twiddling her fingers, "You see, I ended up in the self-defense elective in gym and I'm not doing very well in it, and since you're the best fighter I know, I was wondering if you could tutor me a bit." Larie was stunned, "You want _me_ to teach _you how to fight_?" Double-N suddenly looked nervous, "If you don't feel comfortable teaching me, I could find another solution…" Larie grabbed her by the shoulders, a huge smile on his face, "That's fucking _awesome_! I'm in!" She smiled, "That's great! Thank you Larie! I really…"

"On one condition." She froze, terrified by what he might say, "I'm not doing very well in math or science," he said, a little embarrassed, she instantly brightened at the mention of some of her best subjects, "So why don't we make it a trade? I teach you how to fight and you help me with math formulas and whatever the fuck I'm supposed to be learning in science class." Double-N held out her hand, "I believe I can assist you with that." She said. Larie took it in his and held it, lacing his fingers in between hers, Double-N blushed and turned to the experiment, "L-let's begin, shall we?" He nodded.

.

.

.

An was doing chin ups in gym, despite her lack of chin, she was actually pretty good at chin ups. Jay slipped in beside her, "Hey An." he said, trying to match her pace.

"Hey Jay!" she said, happy to see him. Jay couldn't help but smile at his girlfriend, even calling her that was just enough to make his heart soar. "Um, can I talk to you about something?"

"Okay!" she said.

"So, Tee feels really bad about what happened yesterday…"

An scowled, "He _should_, he made Anny cry." An was a gentle soul, but she was capable of as much damage as him and his brothers if her friends or her brother was in danger or hurt.

"He wants to make it up to her, but he doesn't know how, you have any ideas?" An stopped, then looked at him, her face flushed, but not from exercising. "You want _my_ ideas?" she asked, sounding both surprised and pleased to hear him say that.

"Well, yeah, you're one of her best friends, who better to ask then you?" An smiled widely and kissed him full on the mouth, Jay felt his whole body melt with glee. They had been dating for over a month, but he still couldn't get over how awesome it felt when she kissed him, he'd kissed her hundreds of times, but those were nothing compared to these, probably because the feelings were now mutual. Then the teacher came around and told them to stop flirting and get back to chin ups. An and Jay did so, but they weren't all too happy about it.

"So, any ideas?" An thought for a moment, "Anny wants to be a star." She said with a shrug, "Stars dance." Jay's eyes widened, "An you're a genius!" he said, holding her hands. "I am?" she asked, her face crimson, a small smile in the corners of her mouth.

"Yeah!" he replied honestly, "We can use your idea to make Anny feel better!" An's eyes watered a bit, "You're the first person to ever call me a genius. And you're helping Anny…" She said, then hugged him tightly, "You really _are_ the best boyfriend ever!" she declared, giving him another kiss. Jay was floating on air, until the teacher made them separate and made them work on different sides of the gym, but An and Jay managed to find a way back to each other so they could take turns holding each other's feet while they did curl ups, giving small kisses to the one who was doing the curl ups as they came up.

.

.

.

At lunch, the Ans sat at their normal table, eating lunch, and chatting, just like every other day. An had a chicken sandwich with gravy on buttered toast, a baggy of chunky puffs and milk. Anny had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, a bag of chips and a cola. Double-N had a turkey sandwich, carrot sticks and a bottle of iced tea.

An had gotten up to grab some more gravy to pour on her sandwich when Anny leaned over to Double-N.

"Hey Double-N?" Anny said, looking uneasy, "I know An likes Jay and all, but I'm nervous that he might still, ya know…attack her or something."

"Anny!" Double-N cried.

"What? It's not like he hasn't done it _before_, I'm allowed to be worried about my friend." Anny defended. Double-N sighed, "You have a point, but we can't just deny An's right to enjoy a happy relationship with someone simply because we don't completely trust him"

"What if we had a way that we could have him show us that he's not gonna go back to how he was?" Anny asked.

"Are you suggesting we have them perform some sort of test that proves to us how committed they are to each other as a couple?" Double-N suggested.

"Yeah! But I still haven't come up with a test we could give them that won't get An mad at us yet."

Double-N glanced around the cafeteria, noting the cork board with announcements pinned to it, "I'll check and see if I can find one over there." She said, dashing over to the board as An came back to the table and gulped down her fresh bowl of gravy.

"Where was Double-N going?" she asked.

"An, we need to talk." An suddenly looked upset, "You're not going to stop being my friends or something because I'm dating Jay, are you?"

"No way! Sock head and I are always going to be your friends, Lumpy." An smiled, relieved, then she looked confused, "Then why did Double-N run away?"

"I wasn't running away, An." Double-N explained, rushing back to the table, "I was gathering a little test to see how much Jay cares for you." She then shows them a flyer for a two week 'future parents' class, "It'll also get you both some extra credit, which should help your grades a bit." Double-N added, handing An the flier.

"Why would Jay and I need to go to a parenting class?" her eyes widened, "Am I pregnant?" she asked, nervously, grabbing her belly.

"No, An, just an idiot." Anny said plainly. An relaxed, "Phew."

"The reason we want you to go to this class with Jay is because, while we understand you're very happy in this relationship, we want to be sure he's capable of being the most caring and loving boyfriend to you that you know he is. And what better way to see that then through the most difficult obstacle any couple faces…"

"Parenthood." Anny finished.

"So you don't want me to break up with him?" An asked, "You just want to make sure he's a good boyfriend?"

"Of course, An." Double-N said.

"We're your best friends, Lumpy, all we want is to know that you're in good hands." Anny explained. An had a big goofy grin on her face, small tears in her eyes, "YOU TWO ARE THE BESTEST FRIENDS EVER!" she shouted, looking at the paper and bouncing up and down, "Can I name the baby Sheldon The Third?" Double-N nearly did a spit take with her iced tea, she hadn't really liked the first two Sheldons, which were really old pieces of cheese An had tied to her neck, but a fake baby was sure to be favorable compare to the smelly chunks of cheddar that An had chased Double-N around with. "Sure An," Double-N said, wiping her face, "You can name your fake child whatever you like." An smiled happily, looking at the flyer, "I can't wait to tell Jay!" she said.

.

.

.

Meanwhile on the other side of the cafeteria, Jay and Larie told them what they learned from the girls over sloppy joes, corn chips and sodas, "so challenging her and using her desire to be a star?" Tee simplified, grabbing a chip and munching it. His brothers nodded.

"Both good options, but how do I do it, I mean I can't just straight up challenge her or anything out of the blue…"

"You could teach her." Jay suggested, "After all you do work at a…" Tee slammed his hand over his brother's mouth. "I already told you that we don't talk about that at school." He muttered, scowling.

"But it's your_ job_ to teach people how to dance," Larie said, "And, don't they have that big doubles dance competition being held there in two weeks?" All three boys stopped and smiled, "The big dance competition!" they said in unison.

"But how the fuck do I get her to agree to it?" Tee asked, "She kind of hates my guts right now, plus she's got the other Ans guarding her." An was really happy about something on a piece of paper and the other Ans were nodding and smiling at her, what they were actually talking about, the boys really couldn't say.

"Oh come on, it's just An and Double-N." Jay said with a dismissive wave of his hand, "An's too gentle and Double-N's too kind to ever _really_ hurt anybody."

Karen walked up to their table, her sunglasses were still on but she now had white bandages over her ears, "What the fuck was all that about this morning?" she demanded, her nails digging into the table.

"You crossed the line." Anny said firmly, "We all promised never to talk about it ever again!"

"Oh, so I talked about your stupid inability to dance, so what? It's not like anyone would want to dance with you anyway." The boys heard that and, sensing a fight, they dashed over, Tee a little pissed off at the comment. He would love to dance with Anny, and he'd even be her partner for the competition, if she'd ever forgive him.

Double-N looked to An and said, "An, if you'd please?" An gave her a salute (she did it wrong, but it was An, so it was fine), shoving the flier in her pant's pocket, and then dashed off. Karen pulled out ear plugs, smiling, "Nice try, but you can't get me with that again." She said, cracking her knuckles.

"Wouldn't dream of it." Double-N said nonchalantly, walking over and removing Karen's sunglasses and putting them onto her own face, "Hey! Karen cried, reaching for them, but An quickly returned with a bright spot light and shined it into Karen's eyes. "AHHHHH!" she screamed, covering her stinging eyes. Double-N signaled An to stop and she turned out the light. Karen groped around blindly, "I think I've gone blind!" she cried.

"It's truly amazing how powerful simple things like sound and light can become when hung over." Double-N said coolly, removing the sunglasses and placing them back on Karen's face and walking back over to the table with An, Anny clapped, laughing.

"Hot damn." Larie said, smiling at Double-N and bouncing on his toes a bit. Tee looked at his brother, "There's something wrong with you." He said plainly.

"You think you're so damn smart, don't you Double-N?" Karen demanded.

"Well, not to sound immodest, but yes, I do consider myself to be quite clever, thank you for asking." Double-N replied pleasantly.

"Good, because if it wasn't for that big brain of yours, you'd be nothing! You're not fast, you're not strong, you have the endurance of a flea, you have a big ugly gap in your teeth, you're a compulsive neat freak who can't stay out of other people's business and frankly you're not very attractive." Double-N staggered a bit, looking as if Karen had just punched her in the stomach, tears beginning to pool in her eyes, Larie's fists clenched and he was gritting his teeth so fast that sparks flew out, he looked as if he was about to leap at Karen and tear her limb from limb, but Tee put his arm out and stopped him. An scowled, "That wasn't nice!"

"Oh shut up, you freaking Ginger. Honestly, you're strength and endurance is the only reason you're even considered useful, and now Anny's as big as a house you aren't good for that anymore! You're not smart and you're not pretty, you're a humongous, disgusting, delusional idiot who wears glasses because of a lazy eye, not because you're actually intelligent in any way." An's lip quivered, her eyes watering. Jay's face was red and steam screamed from his ears, he began building up speed, ready to slam into Karen, but Tee held him back as well, 'Come on, Anny, fight back.' He thought.

"And as for you Anny…" Karen began but Anny launched her into the wall with a fist to the face.

"WHO THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU ARE, BITCH!" Anny demanded, "HOW DARE YOU SAY THAT ABOUT MY BEST FRIENDS? EACH ONE OF THEM IS WORTH MORE THEN A TRILLION OF YOU! DOUBLE-N MAY NOT BE TOUGH AND AN MIGHT NOT BE BRIGHT, BUT THAT'S FINE BECAUSE WE STICK TOGETHER SO THEY DON'T NEED TO BE! WE'RE THE ANS! IN THIS FRIENDSHIP, DOUBLE-N'S THE BRAIN, AN'S THE HEART AND I'M THE BITCH WHOSE GONNA KICK YOUR ASS AND PROVE YOU WRONG!" Double-N and An smiled through their tears. "I'M GONNA DANCE AGAIN AND YOU CAN GO FUCK YOURSELF, SKANK!" Anny shouted, throwing their table at the wall where Karen was crawling out.

"How are you going to do that?" Karen asked, half beaten, as she pulled herself from under the table. "It's not like there's any dance contests coming up or anything."

"Actually," Tee said, releasing his brothers to check on their Ans. "There is." Handing both girls a flyer from his pocket, "It's in two weeks." He informed them.

The two of them stared at it, well Anny did, Karen was still kind of blind from the other An's attack, while Tee explained it to them.

Jay hugged An. "She's wrong!" He told her, "You're not stupid or disgusting or ugly or anything like that! You're sweet and kind and beautiful and the best girlfriend ever!" An gave him a watery smile and hugged back, happy that he was there for her, Jay noticed a crinkled flyer in her pocket and was going to ask about it, but An pecked him on the cheek, rendering any sort of thought process to be thrown out to make room for his love-addled brain's addiction to the sniffling girl in his arms.

Larie gently patted Double-N on the shoulder, she looked at him with tears beginning to fall down her face, he pulled her into a hug as she began to sob, her hot tears soaking into his jacket. "It's okay, Double-N" Larie said softly, "you know she's wrong. You have to. After all, you _are_ the smart one." Double-N chuckled a bit.

"So the deal is, if Anny wins, you have to make it up to the three of them in a way each of them choose." Tee said.

"Yeah, and if she loses, Anny can't be _near or talk to or even look at_ An and Double-N for a week." All three girls stiffened, they hadn't spent a single day apart with out contact with one another in the entire time that they knew each other, a week without one of them was like a week without air, they had never tried it and they had never wanted to. Anny looked at her friends, who nodded, "Deal." Anny said.

.

.

.

"How the fuck am I going to learn how to dance?" Anny asked Double-N as they left the lunch room. After all the drama, everyone calmed down a bit. An showed Jay the flier and explained that Anny and Double-N suggested that they take the future parents class together. Jay's face turned red and his jaw dropped, but he was still smiling, tears of gratitude crawled out of his eyes as he happily shook Anny and Double-N's hands, "I won't let you or An down! Ever!" he said, "I promise!" then he and An dashed off to inform the teacher in charge that they wanted to take the class.

"Why does it feel like we just gave An away to Jay?" Anny had asked.

"Don't be ridiculous, Anny, we did no such thing," Double-N said, but she couldn't hide the concern in her voice, the concern that they might _have_ just gave their best friend away to someone they had feared and despised for years, then the bell rang, informing them that lunch was over.

Double-N looked over the flier Tee gave Anny, "Well, they have classes at the studio holding the competition, perhaps you could get some instruction there?"

"Can't you and An teach me?" Anny asked, embarrassed and rubbing the back of her head.

"I'm sorry Anny, but with An and Jay busy with their new 'bundle of joy' and Larie helping me after school, I'm afraid that this is something you are going to have to do on your own."

Anny looked shocked, "Larie's helping with you? With _what_?" Double-N looked a bit embarrassed and said, "My physical education credit."

"You mean the self defense thing?" Anny asked, "I have no idea why you even signed up for that, you hate gym and you hate violence."

"But that doesn't mean I shouldn't learn just in case, Anny." Double-N shifted a bit, uncomfortable, "Karen had a good point, Anny, I _am_ lacking in physical strength." She said, a little bitterness in her voice, "I want to change that, at least a little bit."

"What the fuck does Karen know?" Anny asked, "She's a drunk slut who gave three guys a lap dance last night."

"Her promiscuity aside, Anny, I, like you and An, want to change a bit for the better."

"Me and An? Change?" Anny asked.

"You're going to dance again, Anny." Double-N said, a bit of pride in her voice, "And An is in a happy romantic relationship, we're growing up. And I want to be able to walk beside you two without getting tired or wheezing." She said, "And besides, it's Larie, who better to ask about how to defend one's self then him?" she said. Anny nodded in agreement. There were rumors flying around about Larie being in charge of a gang, while Anny didn't know if it was true or not, she'd seen Larie Kanker fight with her own eyes, he was a vicious son-of-a-bitch.

She smiled a bit, Karen was so full of shit; While Double-N could hardly lift a bowling ball, here she was, asking one the most dangerous people in school, who had terrified her for years, to help her pass a fucking gym class. Double-N was a tough little lady.

"You'll be careful?" Anny asked, Double-N looked at her, touched but not worried, "Larie won't hurt me, Anny." She said, absolutely sure of her words, "I'll be fine."

"So I have to go by myself?" Anny asked. "Not necessarily, Anny, Tee may be able to help you out."

"Tee?" Anny asked, shocked that Double-N would even _suggest_ him to help her, "That asshole is the reason I'm in this mess!" she said.

"Yes, but Larie and Jay had come to us, telling us that Tee wanted to make it up to you."

"Yeah, because _Jay and Larie_ came to _you two_. I bet he had to tie them down and beat them to have to found a convenient excuse to talk to you two," Anny replied sarcastically.

Double-N gave her a devious smile, "Tee probably figured out that something bad would happen to him if he tried asking you or us himself."

"What would've happened?" Anny asked, loving it when her friends dabbled on the dark side.

"An would throw a bucket of water on him."

"That's it?" Anny asked, disappointed, then she heard a buzzing sound and saw a taser in Double-N's free hand, blue lightning wiggling between the rods, "If I were to trip, dropping this near him. It's entirely possible that the water could carry the current to Tee, shocking him. It would be horrible if he happened to be wet if I dropped this near him." She said coolly. Anny smiled at the plan, then frowned, "You still haven't answered my question, Sock head." Double-N turned off the taser and shoved it into her hat.

"They asked An and I for help, Anny, think about it like this; if something were to happen to me, who would Larie go to first?"

"Me and An." Anny said, then got what she meant. The Ans always stuck together, it was common knowledge, they probably knew each other better then they knew themselves. "So he asked around, that doesn't mean anything." She argued.

"So you think Tee Kanker just goes around with fliers about Dance Competitions in his pockets?" Double-N asked, a little bit of teasing in her eyes, "A _doubles dance competition no less_?" she said, pointing out the word 'Doubles.'

"What?" Anny cried, snatching the flier from her. Double-N smiled, confidently, "He probably wanted to ask you to be his partner to cheer you up. The confrontation between us and Karen was convenient opportunity for him, that's why he stopped his brothers from beating her up, he was waiting until you finally snapped."

Anny's eyes widened in realization, "Why that son-of-a-bitch…" She growled, "He set me up!" she clenched her fists, "I _hate it_ when he does that!"

"Indeed, but I doubt he'd have planned that confrontation, Anny. I believe there's another reason he had those fliers."

"Like what?"

Double-N smiled, "I don't know for certain, Anny, but don't you think it's odd that the Kankers are so _good _at dancing? Like Larie Kanker knowing how to waltz last night?" She asked, "Perhaps they might have taken a few classes themselves at some point, to impress us at a party." Double-N reasoned. Anny cracked up at the thought of the Kanker brothers in leotards and tutus, doing ballet, "Tee Kanker in a dance studio?" Anny said, laughing, "I'd pay to see that." She said.

"You don't have to Anny." Double-N said, pointing to another part of the flier, where scratchy handwriting indicated a time next to the address on the flier, "I believe Tee Kanker has already arranged for your class."

.

.

.

Sam stomped home from Double-N's house, fuming. Today had been the shittest day in all his life. First, he found out Jamie was out sick, then he got a surprise pop quiz in his worst subject, History. Then he tripped in gym class and got a face full of mud, then a bird decided that it was a good time to take a dump right over his head. He realized that he forgot his lunch on the bus and couldn't get a hold of anyone to get him anything to eat. Then his shoelace broke between classes, so he tripped all day, he stepped in gum and was now currently missing one shoe because of it, and on the bus home, he saw Double-N jogging.

The simple act itself wasn't too bad; in fact Sam had a humongous crush on Double-N, he had liked her for _years_. She was smart, pretty, sensitive, polite, graceful, caring, kind, he could go on and on, but, in short, there was nothing about Double-N that he didn't like, except maybe that he wasn't her only suitor. The other was _Larie Kanker_, one of the most violent, brash, rude and overall the biggest asshole Sam had ever had the displeasure to meet. Larie along with his brothers used to _terrify_ the entire cul-de-sac, especially Double-N, his sister, An, and that loud mouthed bitch, Anny. Oh, sure he hated Jay Kanker and Tee Kanker too, Jay more then Tee because Jay terrorized An and Sam in their own house on more then one occasion. But he hated Larie the most, the pervert had harassed Double-N for years; looking up her skirt, trying to remove her bathing suit at the lake, chasing her and covering her with hickeys.

So imagine his shock and horror seeing Larie Kanker jogging in front of her, telling her to run faster and keep going, even though poor Double-N looked exhausted and was shaking her head, the bus pulled away from them before Sam could leap off the bus to help her. But that wasn't the only time he saw them on the way home, two stops later, he saw Double-N, running for her life as Larie chased her down the sidewalk, "Come on, Muffin, you know what will happen if I catch you, right?" he teased, the silver stud in his tongue gleaming.

"GOOD LORD!" she cried, scrambling to get away, but she was exhausted, so it took Larie no time to catch up to her and grab her.

"No!" Sam cried, leaping up to help just as the bus started back up and he fell back down into seat, the two teens vanishing as the bus dashed to the next stop.

He saw them when he finally got home, as they walked to her house.

"Can I…. _please…_ have my…. bra back now… Larie?" She huffed, hugging her chest, her bag hanging off of Larie's shoulder along with his own backpack.

"Nope, we're not at your house yet." He said, swinging her bra on his finger, looking quite pleased with himself. Sam was fuming, he met them at her house.

"Sam?" Double-N asked as Sam put himself between her and Larie.

"GO AWAY KANKER!" Sam shouted, "CAN'T YOU SEE YOU'RE NOT WANTED HERE?"

"Sam!" Double-N cried, her tone upset and angry… but at him, not Larie, "I _invited_ Larie here!"

"What?" Sam asked, both confused and horrified at the same time. Larie smirked, "That's right, we're tutoring each other." He informed him.

"What could you possibly teach Double-N?" Sam demanded.

"I'm helping her for her self-defense class." Larie said plainly, his eyes lit up with glee, "And she's helping me with math and science."

"Then why do you have her bra?" Sam demanded, pointing to it, Larie quickly hid it behind his back while Double-N turned red with embarrassment, "Incentive." He said, "She was having a hard time running, so I gave her an incentive to run."

"So you basically acted like yourself." Sam said.

"Sam!" Double-N scolded, then pointed to his house, "I think you should leave." Sam's heart felt as if it had been smashed into a million pieces, Double-N was taking Larie's side? Larie gave him a sympathetic smile, but victory gleamed in his eyes, "But!" Sam protested. Double-N glared at him, "_Now_, Sam." She said sternly. Sam glared at Larie, then stomped home, head hung and heart aching. "I'm so sorry about that, Larie," he heard Double-N say behind him, he felt tears sting his eyes as he dashed home. He burst through the door, "Fucking Kanker!" he cried, throwing his backpack across the room.

"Sam!" An shouted at him, angry. Which was odd, normally when Sam came home she'd cry, "Welcome Home, Baby Brother!" Wonderful, he managed to get another An pissed at him, "Be nice!" she demanded.

"Huh?" he said, confused by the command. He looked into the den and noticing _Jay Kanker_ on the couch with his sister and parents. Jay gave Sam a friendly smile and waved, "Hiya, Sam." As if it was _normal_ for him to be there. His sister was holding a bundle wrapped in a blanket in her arms. Sam felt as if he was in a never-ending nightmare.

"Jay's my _boyfriend_." She snapped, "So be nice to him!"

"You're dating Jay Kanker?" he asked in disbelief. This made no sense, An was _terrified_ of Jay Kanker, she had been for _years_ and now suddenly he was her boyfriend?

"Yes." She said, as if it was obvious.

"How long have you two been dating?" he asked, trying to stay calm.

"Over a month now." Sam's jaw dropped. "I told you about it after it became official, remember?" Sam's fingers clawed at his hair, trying to remember when she _ever_ said she was dating Jay, nothing came up.

"No!" Sam cried, "I think I would've remembered you telling me you were dating _Jay Kanker_!"

"Well, I am. Now come over here and meet your nephew." She said cheerfully, offering the bundle to him. Sam backed into the door. First Larie and Double-N were tutoring each other at her house, now not only did he learn that his sister was dating _Jay Kanker for over a month, but she apparently had his child without Sam noticing in that time._

"This can't be happening." Sam said, terror gripping his throat, "THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING!" he shouted, running up the stairs, "THISCANTBEHAPPENING!" he ran into his room, slamming the door behind him.

"He took that better then I thought he would." An said cheerfully to Jay.

"Yeah, I thought he'd freak out." Jay said.

Both of An's parents face-palmed.

.

.

.

Anny sat in the van, Double-N had tossed her the keys after school, "Larie and I are going to jog home." She explained, "So you can take the van and go home and change before going to your lesson." Anny changed into a purple tank and gray sweatpants, her hair was pulled up and out of her face, and she wore her tennis shoes, she had a bag with spare clothes and a water bottle and a towel. She felt sick. She remembered her sister and mother's voices telling her she couldn't dance. She remembered Karen's drunk comment, "She really did _suck_."

Anny reached for the gear to shift into reverse, but she stopped herself. An and Double-N believed in her and stood up for her, she remembered all the times she tried dancing again, her friends encouraging her and helping her every time, and comforting her every time she gave up. Telling her that it was okay, that she didn't have to dance if she didn't want to.

She remembered when they were little girls, the three of them dancing together in those stupid pink tutus, wearing big grins on their faces and holding hands and clapping for each other. She remembered how they'd stop every once in a while and all the girls would do a conga line, shouting, "Cha-cha-cha!" as they kicked outwards, laughing. She remembered them leaping into the air, feeling as if they were flying, how they'd spin on their toes until they were too dizzy to stand. Dance was fun and Anny had loved it.

Back then An and Double-N were picked on by Karen everyday mercilessly, and Anny would always defend them, "We're the Ans." Anny always told them, "We'll always be together and we'll always be friends, so I'll always protect you."

Double-N was so shy back then, she barely ever said a word or two a day, until her sister said she couldn't dance, that's when all the girls learned about Ann's massive vocabulary, "How dare you!" she had said, finally revealing to the other girls that she had a huge gap between her two front teeth, "How dare you make such a cruel and ludicrous accusation! Anny is a magnificent dancer, and if you can't observe that, then you've obviously been blinded by your envy for her dancing skills!" None of them, not even Anny's sister knew what half the words she said meant, but the act of her speaking was enough to shock them into silence.

An had always had her head down back then, and only really smiled when she was with Anny and Ann, otherwise she was always a bit of a downer. But as soon as Ann said those words, An lifted her head, revealing her lack of chin and then all the girls learned about An's massive strength as she literally lifted Anny's sister and threw her into the house. "GO TO YOUR ROOM!" she shouted as Anny's sister flew into the house. Anny chuckled at the memory.

The other girls looked at the Ans, shocked that Ann had finally spoken and An had lifted her head. "Good job, An." Ann said, patting her chin-less friend on the head, then they both looked at Anny and offered her their hands, "Don't worry Anny, no matter what she says, we know you're a good dancer."

"The best!" An had agreed.

They had pulled a tear-stained Anny up, "You guys…" she was so glad they were with her that she couldn't speak.

"We're the Ans." They said in unison, "We'll always be together and we'll always be friends, so we'll protect you too, Anny." Anny smiled and hugged her friends.

If Anny lost this bet, she'd have to be without her best friends for a week. "Well that shit ain't happening." Anny growled, putting the van in park and pulling out the keys and kicking the door open. "I don't give a fuck about dancing anymore, but no one's taking my friends from me, even if it's just for a week." She said, hopping out of the van, slamming the door shut and storming into the dance studio. She walked up to the front desk and pulled out the flyer and reading the appointment to the lady at the desk.

"Oh, yes, your instructor's in studio four." The sweet old lady behind the desk said, "You're a very lucky young lady, he's our best teacher and he _never_ teaches one on one." Anny smiled and nodded at the lady, 'best instructor? Never teaches one on one?' she thought, 'maybe Tee Kanker isn't a _total_ insensitive ass wipe.'

Anny opened the door and walked inside, "so where is this guy?" she asked. The door closed behind her.

"Hiya Anny."

"I take it back." She said flatly, not even looking behind her, knowing it was Tee. "You're still a total insensitive ass wipe."

"And your new dance instructor." He said, with a smirk. Anny turned to face him, but she froze at the sight of him, her jaw dropped.

Tee was wearing a white tank top and what looked like the tightest black sweatpants ever, he wore his normal tennis shoes. But that wasn't what got Anny, Anny couldn't give two shits what he was wearing. Tee had his hair pulled back, including the hair over his eyes. After years of him attacking her and chasing her, she finally saw his eyes. They were… unfortunately, gorgeous. How the fuck did such a total insensitive ass wipe have such beautiful blue eyes? Anny snapped out of it, remembering that it was _his_ fault she had to be there anyway, if he hadn't had pushed her, she wouldn't be at risk of losing her best friends for a week, she clenched her teeth. Feeling rage surge through her again, a bit relived that it did, the whole 'admiring Tee Kanker for his looks thing' was messing her up.

"If this is another of your stupid tricks, I'm going to fucking _murder_ you." She growled, clenching her fists.

"It's not a trick, I really _do_ work here." Tee said, holding up his hands, smiling easily, he looked actually handsome when he did that. Anny's heart skipped a beat. 'Fuck dammit, heart, it's Tee Kanker, don't skip for him.' She scolded.

"Prove it." Anny hissed. Tee smirked, "Fine." Anny blushed despite herself, almost wishing he had kept his stupid hair over his eyes, when he smirked with his hair over his eyes he looked like the douche she grew up hating, without the hair in his face, he looked kind of hot, she shook her head, 'An and Double-N, you're doing this for An and Double-N.' she reminded herself.

Tee grabbed her hand with one hand and her waist with another.

"You. Must. Have. A. Fucking. Death. Wish. Tee. Kanker." Anny seethed.

"What, you asked me to prove it, how can I teach you if you won't cooperate?"

Anny winced, man he was getting to her today, "What are you trying to teach me?" she asked, putting no effort towards hiding the displeasure in her voice.

"I'm going to teach you how to waltz." Tee said plainly, "Like Larie did with Double-N last night." Anny remembered how the two glided around the dance floor the other night, and while she was still pissed at Tee for causing all this trouble, she had to admit she wanted to try it out at least once.

"Fine, but you do any thing Larie might do to Double-N and I'll throw you through the wall."

Tee smiled and laughed, "That sounds fair." Her heart began to beat faster, so she said, "And one more thing." She pushed his hair back over his eyes.

"What the…"

"There." She said, quite pleased with herself, "Now if you screw up, I won't go easy on you." Tee blushed at that, moving the hair out of his eyes for a moment to look at her, astounded. "You won't?" he asked, sounding almost touched.

"Fuck no." Anny said, a bit confused to why he would be touched by her refusal to go easy on him, especially when she _always_ did that. Tee shoved his hair back down over his eyes, his face redder then his hair, "Good." He said simply, "Now put your hand on my shoulder." Anny winced, "Do I have to?"

"Only if you want to see your friends two weeks from now." Anny scowled at him and grabbed his stupid shoulder, squeezing it a little until he winced in pain, then she loosened her grip, he was there to teach her, so hurting him would only hurt her chances of winning. But causing him a little pain made her feel a little better. "Now what, Dance Master?" Anny replied sarcastically. "Make sure you're elbow's bent. Then follow my movements." Tee instructed.

"Follow your movements?" Anny asked, bending her elbow.

"Yeah." He said, "So when I move my left foot forward…" he said, moving his left foot forward, "You move your right foot back." Anny looked down at her feet and moved her right foot back. "Alright," he said. He then told her, step by step how to move through the dance.

"Alright, you got the steps down, now to get the rhythm." Tee said, "Remember how Larie and Double-N were counting?"

"Yeah," Anny said, "One, two, three. One, two, three. One, two three." As she began counting, they began slowly to catch up to her count, Anny couldn't help but smile and laugh. She was actually having fun, she couldn't wait to tell her friends! Tee then dipped her.

"And that's a waltz." Tee said, pulling her back up, surprised to see her smiling at him.

"Okay, you win this one." She said, then smiled, "What's next, teach?" Tee's heart skipped a beat, "Uh, the Cha Cha." He said, a bit of nervousness in his voice.

"Is that the one where everyone gets in a line?" Anny asked.

"That's a conga line, dumb ass." He said.

"Just shut up and teach me already." Anny grumbled. He put his hand on her back, right under her shoulder blade and held his palm up and took her hand, "Put your hand on my shoulder." He commanded.

"Fine." She huffed, doing as he asked. Tee was stunned, she looked at him incredulously, "What?"

"You're actually doing what I'm telling you to?"

"_Yeah_." She said, a little annoyed, "You're teaching me, remember?"

"I meant without _fighting_ me."

"I don't know what the fuck I'm _doing_." Anny said, "You _do_. Why would I fight you when, unlike me, you actually know what you're talking about?" Tee's mouth was dry, his heart was banging against his ribcage like a jackhammer, did Anny just… just admit he was right about something? She'd _never_ done that before.

"Are you going to fucking teach me or just stare at me with that stupid look on your face all day?" She asked, annoyed, "Cause I only got two weeks and if I lose my best friends for a week, you're _dead_."

"Yeah." He said, a bit breathless, "Sorry, let's begin, just like last time, match my movements." Anny nodded and obeyed.

Tee felt as if he was living in a dream, he was in his element, teaching a happy and smiling Anny how to dance. And she actually seemed to be having _fun_ dancing with him. He taught her two more dances before his next class was supposed to start.

"See you tomorrow at 4:30, same room, got it?" He said.

"Got it." she said, giving him a knowing smile, "See you tomorrow." Tee felt sweat pour down his neck and back, so as she was leaving he managed to finally ask, "Hey, uh, you still need a partner for the contest?"

"Nope." She said, slinging her bag over her shoulder, "I've already got you, so I'm good." Tee's jaw dropped, his face red. Anny quickly turned away from him, her own face the same color as her hair and added, "I mean, after all, _you're_ the one who got me into this mess, so you're stuck with me until I can shove that trophy into Karen's big ugly face." Tee nearly passed out from pure joy, but managed to stay up right and said, "Okay, then. See you tomorrow." Then he pushed his hair back out of his eyes, getting ready for his next class.

As Anny left the room, she could hear him let out a quiet cheer, "YESSS!" She rolled her eyes, but she couldn't help but smile, then she noticed the little old lady from the front desk. "Oh! I'm sorry, dear, I know I shouldn't have snooped, but I was a little curious about the girl Tee was head over heels for." Anny blushed a little at that, but said, "It's no big deal, he's just helping me out, I haven't really danced for a while." She said, rubbing the back of her head.

"Why not?"

"It's kind of a long story."

The little old lady smiled, "Those are my favorites! Come with me, I'll make us some tea." She said, taking Anny's hand. "You sound like my friend Ann." She said with a laugh.

"With one N or two?"

Anny was surprised, "How did you…?"

"I know all about you girls, my grandsons go on and on about you three, Oh!" She smiled at Anny and held out her other hand, "I'm so sorry, where are my manners, I'm Gladys Kanker." She said, shaking Anny's hand. "I'm Anny. The friend I was talking about was one with two Ns." Anny said, taking a shine to the old woman.

"Ah, the young lady who stole Larie's heart." She said. "She's sounds like a tough cookie."

"Yeah, and An's a big gentle teddy bear with the strength of a real bear."

"Yes, she and Jay are dating now, right?"

"Right." Anny said, smiling, she and Gladys walked past her desk towards a door that led to a small kitchen, chatting.

.

.

.

After Sam's mom explained that the baby was actually just a doll and it was for a class and they were partners, Sam managed to calm down a bit. But the fact that his sister had started dating Jay Kanker was disturbing to say the least. And with the fact that Double-N was studying with Larie, the world seemed to be out of whack.

What next? Was Anny going to take a dance class with Tee Kanker? "Yeah, right." Sam chuckled.

"Sam! Dinner!" His mother called. He walked downstairs and saw Jay sitting next to his sister, but there was a high chair between them, An 'fed' the doll as she cradled it in her arms. Sam had to admit, the first An to come to mind when he thought of the word 'motherly' was Double-N, but his sister was actually pretty motherly as she gently stroked the doll's little fingers as she 'fed' it. It was almost kind of sweet.

Jay smiled at the two proudly, taking his time to eat and even taking the 'baby' from her so she could eat for a while. It was almost like watching a real young family. Which was kind of weird. Kind of _really_ weird. If this was a dream, Sam couldn't wait to wake up. He sat next to Jay, much to his chagrin, and picked at his food.

"So, An, Jay, you said that Ann and Anny suggested you two take this class?" Their mother asked. Sam's jaw dropped. _Anny and Double-N_ _suggested that An and Jay take a_ _future parenthood class_? Sam felt dizzy, but kept eating. Jay and An nodded vigorously, "They suggested right after we told them we were going out!" Jay said, "I thought they wouldn't trust me dating their friend, but they really seem open minded about it." Sam dropped his fork, "W-when did you tell them?" he asked, afraid to hear the answer.

"Yesterday." An and Jay said in unison. Sam put his hands on his head and began rubbing his temples.

"Well, that was very considerate of them to be so open minded." His mother said. An nodded, a warm smile on her face "I was afraid that they'd make me choose between them and Jay, but they said that as long as I'm happy that they're happy for me and will support us." Sam stopped rubbing his temples, that _definitely_ sounded like something those two would do for his sister. Their parents looked at each other warmly, the three Ans had gotten themselves into some messy situations, but all in all, they couldn't ask for their daughter to have better friends.

"So what else happened at school today?" Their dad asked. An went to 'burp' the doll, Jay took his napkin and put it on her shoulder so she wouldn't get 'spit up' on her shirt, not that An's clothes hadn't gotten worst on them, but the sentiment was still sweet. Their mom was impressed, and even touched that Jay was working to keep her daughter from getting more crap on her clothes then she normally did.

"Today Karen was really mean." An said, scowling, "She kept picking on Anny for not wanting to dance. So me and Double-N shined a light in her face." Her family nodded, they had no idea what she meant by shining a light in Karen's face, but it was An, so they just went along with it. "Then Karen said lots of mean things to Double-N, like about her teeth and stuff and made her cry." Sam perked up at that, bending his fork a little bit in anger.

"Yeah." Jay said, his fingers gripping the end of the table, cracking it, "Then when An stood up for Double-N, Karen starting saying mean things about An! It was totally uncalled for! She made An cry!" He then broke a piece of the table off, he looked at Sam and An's parents sheepishly and said, "Sorry." Their parents told him it was okay, but Sam could tell that they were actually quite glad that Jay was getting so angry on their daughter's behalf.

"Then Anny hit her in the face and stood up for us. She said she'd dance again and prove her wrong!" An said, cheerfully.

"Yeah, our grandmother works at a dance studio and helped Tee get a job there, he's one of their best instructors. He's teaching Anny how to dance!"

Sam nearly choked on his food, '_Holy shit!'_ He thought, 'I was just _kidding_!' Jay patted him on the back as he coughed, "You okay?" he asked, earning himself more brownie points with An and their parents.

"TEE IS A DANCE TEACHER?" Sam cried as soon as could speak again.

"Yeah, one of the best." Jay said, "He taught Larie and me."

"You and Larie can dance?" Sam asked in disbelief.

"Yeah. Watch!" He said, carefully taking the 'baby' from An, and carefully and putting him in Sam's arms, moving his hands to ensure the fake baby's safety, "Here, hold Sheldon." He said. Sam looked at the doll, "Sheldon?" he asked. Jay took An's hand and walked her into the living room and put his hand on her waist, then An put her hand on his shoulder, like how she had seen Double-N do with Larie the night before. Then the two began to waltz around the room, smiling and laughing.

Sam's jaw dropped, "No way…" he said, astounded. Their parents clapped in approval, Sam could tell that they were _very_ impressed and _actually okay with this_. Sam looked down at the fake baby in his arms, "This can't be happening." He murmured. This was just like one of those stupid alternate dimensions An would blather on about from her stupid comics.

Jay dipped his sister then helped her back up, their parents cheered, Sam felt his throat close, what kind of universe had he unknowingly fallen into? They walked back to the table, Jay carefully removing 'Sheldon' from Sam and said, "Thanks, Uncle Sam." With a big buck toothed grin. Sam was shaking, 'Uncle Sam?' He wasn't ready to be an uncle, even to a stupid doll! He looked to his mom and said, "Mom, may I please be excused?"

"Sure Sam." His mother said. Sam slowly pushed himself up from the table and walked upstairs and into his room, closing the door.

"UNCLE SAM?" he cried, completely losing it.

"Aww…" An said smiling, "He's so proud!" Jay nodded in agreement as he put 'Sheldon' into the high chair. An's parents looked at one another, face-palmed and sighed, resigning to the fact that any _real_ grandchildren they would get from these two would probably _not_ be all that bright.

.

.

.

Laire's sat next to Ann's father looking thorough an album of when Ann was little, while Ann and her mother went to print out some pictures Ann's mother took at the play for Larie and his brothers.

After Ann's failure of a jog, he gave her bra back and decided to stick to the basics, he taught her how to fall correctly, after about ten tries, she finally got it. After Ann hugged him in celebration, they then pulled out Larie's math books and Ann's study materials that she had made for him after finishing up early in her classes and went over everything they both had and some how managed to finish within three hours.

"This is remarkable, Larie! You're progressing faster then most people I tutor, you've learned and understood in three hours what takes most people two days!" She said proudly.

"Yeah well, I have a good tutor." He said, a bit embarrassed by all her praise.

That's when her parents came home. He introduced himself and explained that he was there for Ann to tutor him in math and science, only for her to add, "He's helping me with the self-defense class I'm taking." Her parents were pleased and invited him to stay for dinner. He accepted and even helped a bit, winning himself some brownie points with her parents. During dinner, Ann's mother mentioned recognizing him from the play and they talked about it for a while.

"I took pictures of everyone, if you'd like, we could print some out for you to take home."

"That'd be really great, thank you." He said with a smile, "Could I trouble you to get some of my brothers, too? Our dad and grandma would love those." Her mother smiled widely, "Sure, who did your brothers play as?" He told her and after dinner and washing the dishes, Ann and her mother went to print out the pictures while he and her father sat on the couch quietly. Larie felt awkward, he shifted in his seat then looked around the room. There was no TV, but the walls were filled with books, he got up and began running his finger along the spines until he found a thick one with 'Ann' printed on it.

"What's this?" he asked.

"Oh! I haven't seen that in ages! Bring it here, I'll show you." Larie obeyed, surprised that the book was so heavy for a family who looked as if a strong wind could snap them in half, he handed it to her dad, who took it with no trouble and began flipping through the pages, revealing it was Ann's baby album. Larie felt as if he had won the freaking lottery. Her father flipped to a page with a large photo in the middle, there was a group of little girls, who couldn't be older then five, all were wearing pink tutus with a girl in her mid-to-late teens behind them who looked a _lot_ like Anny.

"This was a dance class Anny's mother held when the girls were little, we had just recently moved in, An's family arrived a week before we did, so both girls were still quite new to the area." Her dad explained, then pointed to a trio in the left hand corner. "That's Ann and her friends right there."

Larie looked at the trio closely, Ann was wearing her classic hat over her hair, only two little tufts puffed out from the back, almost looking like pigtails. She was looking nervously at the camera, making a face that was probably supposed to be a smile but was too nervous to actually be one, her mouth was closed tightly, hiding the cute gap in her teeth that he had seen in earlier pictures and that she still had today. She had both hands on the edges of her hat, tugging them down further down her face, her knees were bent in the same way they used to when Ann would see him running towards her, they had probably been shaking. Aww, even when she was little, she was cute when she was nervous.

An's head was curled to her chest, looking at the camera as if it might hurt her, a pout on her face, her hair was straight and barely reached halfway down her neck, almost making a dome on her head that blocked out light. She was the tallest back then, like she had been until Anny had hit her growth spurt, and judging by the splatters on her tutu, she was a slob even back then. But she seemed like an entirely different person back then she was now. This one looked depressing, not like the vibrant girl his brother fell in love with and was now dating.

In between them was a young Anny, who didn't look much different from how Anny looked back when she was the smallest An. Only her hair was shorter and in pigtails, she was smiling widely, happy as a clam, and cheering for the camera. At least that was the same.

"What are you two looking at?" Ann asked, her mother right behind her, photos in hand. Her mother handed him the photos, which had been wrapped in paper, perfectly packaged. "Thank you, ma'am." He said, slipping the package into his jacket pocket. Ann looked at the photo, "Oh! It's the dance class!" she said, sitting next to Larie, her father got up and walked to her mother and informed them that they would be going to bed early, since they'd have to get up early the next day. Ann and Larie both wished them a good night as they disappeared up the stairs. Ann pointed to the other two little girls, "That's Karen and Jenny." She said, "Rachel hadn't moved in yet." She then pointed to the teenager, "That's Anny's sister, as you probably were able to ascertain." Larie nodded, although he had no idea what ascertain meant.

"It looks like you were cute when you were nervous even back then." He said. She blushed. "I was very bashful at that age, before we moved here, I got made fun of the gap between my teeth," she said, "So to ensure that no one could see, and therefore not make fun of my teeth, I hardly ever said a word."

"What about An?" he said, pointing to the depressing girl to Anny's left.

"Ah, well before she moved here, she was made fun of for, well, everything." She said, looking a bit angry, "And her parents focused more on her brother then her, they practically ignored her. Oh sure, they fed and clothed her, but they hardly listened to her or paid any attention to her. They favored Sam, and she knew it, and she was angry with her brother for that, but at the same time, she adored her baby brother, so she felt guilty about being mad at him for something he had no control over." Ann explained, bitterness in her voice, "Honestly, it was only after Mondo-A-Go-Go that her parents realized their mistake of ignoring her for so many years." Larie grabbed her hand, "She may not have had them, but she had you two," he said, pointing to the three young Ans in the photo, "and she's a lot happier now then she is in this photo." Ann smiled, "we took a photo each week, look what happened when Anny united us as friends," she said, flipping through a few pages, as time went on, Ann's smile became less nervous and she even waved at the camera, shyly, her mouth still closed. An stood up a little straighter and her sad pout became a small grin, and Anny's smile just got bigger, the girls began standing closer and closer until the last photo where the three of them were holding hands, smiling.

"Then Anny's sister broke her heart, right?"

"Yes." Ann nodded, "The same day we took this picture, in fact." She then flipped the page, "This picture was taken a week after that," she said. The three girls smiled at the camera, holding hands.

Ann was smiling broadly, revealing her gap, the nervousness in her pose and face gone. She wore a purple dress with a red shirt underneath, her hat sat on her head as it did when he first met her, only with her little black pigtail tufts poking out.

An had her classic goofy smile on her face, she stood up straight, her hair was pulled back into two pigtails, she wore a red-striped shirt with a jean skirt, both had something splatter on them at one point.

And Anny, smiled the same way, tears coming from her eyes, she wore a yellow dress and her hair was also in pigtails.

"We had just cheered her up from the dance incident, she had been crying, but we had played with her for hours and hours. Then her sister had slipped and fallen face first into the mud, the three of us just started laughing. Father took this before her sister was led inside by Anny's mother to clean up." Ann explained.

"Hey, can I ask you something?"

"Please do."

"How did you three become friends?"

Ann smiled, "Anny had been stuck with Karen and Jenny for a long time, Karen was always with Nate and Jenny was always kind of a loner at that time and as we know, Anny's sister doesn't play well with others, so she wanted friends, so as soon as An moved in…"

.

.

.

(FLLLLLAAAASSSSSHBAAAAACCCCCK!)

.

.

.

An sat in the front yard, her head tucked down, her mother cradling Sam in her arms directing the movers, her father helping by carrying half the stuff in himself. An sighed as Anny ran up to meet her.

"Hi! I'm Anny! What's your name?" An looked up, surprised, and pointed to herself.

"Yeah, you." She said, "I sure ain't talking to the squirt over there." She said, indicating Sam.

"An." An replied, a little scared of Anny.

"You wanna play hopscotch?" Anny asked. An's eyes widened in disbelief that someone would want to play with her, then she looked at her mom, ready to call out to her, but saw her mom was only concerned about Sam, who had begun to cry. An walked over to ask if Sam was okay, but her mother told her off, telling her to get out of her father's way. An looked heartbroken. Anny scowled and grabbed her hand and called out to An's mom, "I'm playing with An! If you don't like it, too bad!" An's mother saw them and waved her hand, as if to say, 'yeah, sure whatever.' An was starting to cry. Anny dragged her away from her house and said, "Come on, An, let's play at my house. We can play dress up with some of my sister's old clothes. Did I ever tell you that she's a fashionista? We'll look like movie stars and then your mom will _have_ to pay attention to you!"

"Really?" An asked, snot dripping down her face.

"Yeah." Anny said, "Nobody ignores my friend." An smiled a bit at that as Anny dragged her inside.

.

.

.

(out of flashback)

.

.

.

"By the time I had shown up, An's family situation wasn't much better, but she was much better then she had been, now that she had Anny as a friend." Ann explained.

.

.

.

(SECOND FLASHBACK!)

.

.

.

Ann clung to her mother's skirt as the movers unloaded all their things into the house, her father telling them where each thing went. Anny and An see Ann.

"Hey, another new kid, lets ask her if she wants to play too!"

"Are you sure, Anny?" An asked, nervous, "her mom might get mad."

"We don't know that, An, come on! I'll race ya!" she said, running towards them.

"Wait for me!" An cried, dashing behind her. The two girls skidded to a stop in front of Ann and her mother.

"Hi, I'm Anny and this is An, with one n." Anny introduced them.

"Hi." An said, a bit upset that Anny started without her. Ann clings nervously to her mother's skirt. "Aren't you going to say hello?" her mother asked, her voice soothing.

"H-hello." She said quietly.

"What's your name?" Anny asked her. Ann hides further behind her mother.

"We won't hurt you." An promised, her sincerity making Ann poke her head out from behind her mother, much to An's surprise. "Ann." She squeaked. "Two Ns." She held up two fingers.

"Three Ns?" An asked, not knowing numbers yet.

"No An, two." Anny said, "Hey, since people might get you and An mixed up, we'll call you Double-N, okay? It's a nickname." Ann peeled herself further off her mother's leg with a confused look on her face, since to her knowledge, nicknames were traditionally given to shorten names, not elongate them.

"It's what friends give each other." Anny said with a smile.

"Yeah." An agreed, a small smile on her face. Ann looked up at her mother, who nodded, then she let go of her mother's skirt and pointed to An, "An." then to Anny, "Anny." Then to herself, "Ann…" she paused then said, "Double-N." An and Anny smiled.

"Alright!" Anny cried, she and An grabbed Ann's hands and raced off, "We'll bring her back later!" Anny cried. Ann's mother waved at the girls as they ran off to play.

.

.

.

(end flashback 2)

.

.

.

"So those two brought you out of your shell?" Larie asked her.

Ann laughed, "it was more like Anny _dragged_ us out. When her sister said she was a bad dancer, I lost it." she said, "I shouted at her, and since I had barely said more then ten words the whole time I'd known her sister, so my sudden vocalization was a bit of a shock. But what was more shocking was that An stood up straight, picked her up and threw her into her house shouting, 'Go to your room!'" Ann said, chuckling at the memory, Larie cracked up at that as well imagining little An from the photo wearing a tutu and throwing a girl over twice her size and age into a house, demanding that she go to her room. "An hadn't stood up straight or shown any indication that she was strong until that day." She shrugged, "honestly, the three of us really haven't been apart since we became friends." She quickly flipped through the book, showing him that, except for a few family photos and school pictures, there wasn't a picture of her that didn't include the other two Ans. She reached near the end of the book, when Larie saw pictures from the play, "Hey, hang on!" he said, putting his hand into the book where he saw the picture from the play.

"I want to see these!" he said, Ann gave him an apologetic look, "sorry." She said, opening to the first page of the play photos. Most of the play photos had at least one An in it, but there were photos of the others in their costumes without them. Ann got up for a second to get something, Larie flipped to the next page where they were all bowing, underneath it was him and his brothers kissing them on stage. Then there was him and his brothers dragging them off stage, the others looking kind of annoyed. Then there was one of all three girls in their normal clothes, each holding a bouquet and smiling proudly. He smiled, and put his hand on it, only to realize that there was something under the page. He flipped the page and saw a photo of Ann and him from the parking lot, he was walking away from the camera, but the blue hair was a dead give away that it was him, Ann was smiling and blushing, admiring the blue iris he gave her, the flower itself was sitting in between the pages, Ann had apparently pressed it into a bookmark and put it in. Larie smiled and closed the book. Ann came back and handed him a slip of paper with a phone number on it, "I've been forgetting to give it to you." Ann said, a little embarrassed, "And if we're tutoring each other, it's best that we both have each other's cell phone numbers." Larie turned pink, "Thanks Double-N." he said, shoving it into his other pocket.

.

.

.

Tee was tired, he had just finished his last class, which was full of girls his own age, all the girls went to different schools, so they didn't know his reputation as a bad ass at Peach Creek High and in a certain cul-de-sac. They knew nothing about him, but that still didn't keep them from hitting on him, even while he was trying to teach them. He knew it wasn't him as a person they liked, but simply his eyes, he doubted they'd even recognize him with his hair over them. Only _Anny_ was okay with him wearing his hair in his face like normal and only _Anny_ wasn't going to accept anything but his best, even if he batted his eyelashes at her.

He smiled, making his way back to the break room, ready to grab his stuff and go home, only to open the door and see that his grandma and Anny were talking. He stopped dead, "Anny?" She stopped and turned to him, "Hey Tee." She said with a wave. Tee turned pink, Anny _never_ greeted him like that. She almost always narrowed her eyes and growled, "Kanker." When she saw him.

"What are you still doing here?" he asked.

"Chatting with Gladys." Anny said plainly, then started to chuckle, "I didn't know you used to be afraid of nutcrackers."

"Grandma!" he cried, embarrassed.

"Oh, hush!" she said, "It was reasonable, Anny, his father almost lost one in one of those." Anny's eyes widened in horror, "Why would you tell me that?" she asked.

"Anyway, Tee, since you're done now, why don't you take me home?" Gladys said, Tee nodded. Gladys then took Anny's hands, "It was very nice to meet you, Anny, I hope you bring your friends by soon so I can meet them."

"I think they'd like that." Anny said with a smile, "Well, I'd better get home too, my parents are probably freaking out, nice meeting you, Gladys." She said. Then passed Tee, "See you tomorrow, teach." She said. Tee flushed a bit, then turned to his grandma, "Did you really have to tell her about the nutcracker thing?"

"Did you really have to tie her tongue in knots so it resembled a donkey?" his grandma countered. Tee winced, "She told you about that, huh?"

"Oh, she told me _everything_." His grandma said, "Including the fact that even though she wanted to throttle you for making her get into a bet where she could lose her best friends for a week, that she still had a good time today and she was glad you could teach her." Tee's face was so hot, steam came from his ears.

"Now, on the way home, I'd like you to put your brothers on that green tooth thing…"

"Bluetooth, Grandma, it's called a Bluetooth." Tee corrected.

"Whatever," she said with a wave of her hand, "I'd like to get a hold of your brothers and hear why I only got to meet _one_ of them today."

.

.

.

Sam was in a living hell. His parents said that it would be okay Jay to stay in their house until the two weeks of the class was over 'to help take care of the baby.'

Baby? _Baby?_ It was a fucking doll! Jay would be sleeping on the couch on the first floor, and his dad had outlined very clearly what would happen to Jay if he tried going down into An's room at night for any reason besides taking care of the doll or if she was in immediate danger, so his sister would be fine. But Sam would be sharing a bathroom with him, and Jay would be changing in his room, and his dad didn't lay any ground rules for Sam's safety. Sam laid in bed, shaking. Just one floor below him was one of the people who used to torture him and beat him up for _fun_, the floor below that was his stupid sister, who didn't see Jay as a threat at all to her or anyone else in the house. The guy attacked her all the time when she was little, how could she go from fearing him to liking him? Sam got up and walked downstairs, tiptoed past Jay, who was snoring loudly and went downstairs and knocked on his sister's door, "An? It's Sam, can I come in?" he asked. She opened it, wearing her usual pajamas of a tank top and a pair of shorts, she rubbed her eyes with one hand and then put her glasses on, "Baby brother?" she asked, sounding really tired.

"I wanted to ask you something, can I come in?" An nodded, and let him in. Her room was still a clusterfuck of the odd, the bizarre and the utterly disgusting. A crib sat in a cleaned spot by her disgusting mattress. She sat down on her bed and patted the spot beside her.

"It's okay, An, this won't take long." He said, not wanting to sit on her nasty ass mattress or keep her up much longer. "I just wanted to ask, how could you start dating Jay, I mean, he used to make you miserable and cry, why would you start dating him?"

An tilted her head and smiled, "You're worried about me?" Sam was taken aback, then felt kind of awful, this whole time he was focused on only _his_ happiness instead of the one person who really mattered in all this; An.

"Kinda." He said, An got up and hugged her little brother, "I'm okay, Sam. Jay won't hurt me. Why I'm dating him, well, he _did_ use to scare me, but when we both joined videogame club, we were alone in a room without anyone else, no Anny, no Double-N, no Tee, no Larie. Just us, and we learned that we actually had a lot in common. He didn't chase me or attack me in the club room, so I felt safer around him. After a while I started seeing that he was actually a really nice guy and really did care about me and so I started liking him back. Then when he asked me out, I felt really happy, so I agreed." She said, smiling at the memory. Sam looked at his sister, "You sure about this, An?" she nodded.

"That's why Anny and Double-N suggested this class, they want to see how well he'll treat me even in tough times that can't be avoided, they thought parenthood would be best because not only did they want to know I was being treated right and loved, but so I could see what it's like to be a mom."

"And?"

"It's hard." She said plainly, Sam laughed. "But I like it. I think I'll do it for real when I'm older." An said.

"Okay." Sam said, as he left, An took off her glasses and went to go back to sleep but the doll began screaming in the crib, An groaned, put her glasses back on and got up slowly, but Jay dashed past Sam and got the doll for her, "You've gotten him the past few times, I've got this." He told her, An smiled gratefully and kissed him on the cheek and removed her glasses and laid back down on her mattress and fell asleep. Jay's smile was humongous after his sister kissed him and he was very caring for the stupid doll. Jay was taking this seriously to prove to everyone that he could take care of the girl he loved and any children they might have one day, Sam walked up to him and tapped him on the shoulder, "If you two get too tired tomorrow, I'll stay down here and help too, if you need it." Jay looked at him gratefully, "Thanks, Sam." He then ruffled his hair. Sam walked back up to his room, feeling better.

An smiled, happy that her brother and her boyfriend were getting along, Jay finished soothing the doll and put it back into the crib, kissing An on the head before he left to go back upstairs to the couch. An felt all warm and tingly as she curled up to sleep, grateful for having such caring friends, family, and a _very_ loving boyfriend.

.

.

.

The next morning, Anny picked her friends up in the van, along with Jay, who was holding Sheldon. An and Jay quickly fell asleep on the mattress in the back, side by side, their 'baby' between them. "Isn't that sweet?" Double-N asked.

"Yeah, adorable." Anny said, focusing on the road instead of the sleeping sweethearts behind them.

"So, how was your class last night?" Double-N asked her, Anny smiled widely, "Oh you're not going to believe this! _Tee Kanker not only works as a dance teacher but he's teaching me how to dance._"

"Really?" Double-N said, trying to act shocked, "Who knew?"

Anny looked at her, actually shocked, "You _knew_?" Double-N smiled sheepishly, "Larie _kind of_ told me at the party."

"And you let me go in there, not knowing this?"

"I'm sorry, but Anny… Did you enjoy it?" Anny stopped, surprised by her question and the scandalous tone she used at the end, she looked at Double-N who was smiling with a conspiratorial look in her eyes.

"Well?" Double-N asked. Anny flushed and looked back to the road, "Yeah." She admitted. Double-N smiled triumphantly, "Well then aren't you glad I didn't tell you?"

"Yeah well, did you know that the Kanker's _grandma_ works there?"

"No." Double-N replied, honestly surprised, "Larie mentioned his grandmother would like some of the photos mother took of the play, but he didn't say where she worked." Anny looked at her, eyebrows raised, "Larie met your _mother_? What the hell were _you two_ up to last night?"

"Larie helped me train last night, then I helped him with math, and I have to say, Anny, I was truly impressed." Anny glanced over at her, "Impressed by what?"

"How intelligent he is, Anny. He was able to quickly catch up to where the rest of his class is _in three hours_. Which probably would've taken me two days to help anyone else accomplish that." Double-N said, "Then my parents came home and they invited him to stay for dinner and we looked through an old photo album of mine." Anny smiled at her, "Gee, Sock-head, I didn't know you were dating a Kanker, too." She teased. Double-N blushed, "Very funny, Anny…" Suddenly, a horrible smell filled the air, "Good Golly O-Mighty!" Double-N cried, "WHAT IS THAT HORRIBLE ODOR!"

"It smells like…" Anny and Double-N looked at each other, then looked back at An and Jay, the doll between them had a chunk of nasty old cheese hanging around it's neck.

"SHELDON THE FOURTH!" the two screamed, waking Jay and An, then they both rolled the windows, shoving their heads out and gasping for fresh air.

"AIR!" Double-N cried, "AIR!"

"DAMMIT AN!" Anny shouted out the window, "WHY THE HELL WOULD YOU BRING THAT THING INTO THE VAN?"

"I wanted Sheldon to have a friend…" An replied, her voice tired.

"SO YOU GAVE IT A PIECE OF ROTTEN CHEESE?" Double-N shouted.

"Yeah." An said, confused why Double-N, a well known germ-a-phobe, would be so upset by a rotting piece of cheese in her spotless van.

"WHY WOULD YOU PUT IT AROUND AN INFANT'S NECK?" Double-N asked, "THAT COULD KILL IT!" An's eyes widened, now completely awake, "WHAT?"

"YOU NEVER WRAP A STRING AROUND A BABY'S NECK, IT COULD STRANGLE ITSELF!"

"ONLY IF THE SMELL DOESN'T KILL IT FIRST!" Anny cried, pressing her foot flat on the gas so they could get to school faster.

.

.

.

Larie and Tee were coming out of their truck when the van came screaming into the parking lot, swerving into a spot with Anny and Double-N's heads out the window. When the van finally stopped, Anny and Double-N threw open the door, falling to the ground, gasping for air. Tee and Larie looked at each other and ran over to the van. Larie helped Double-N up, "What the hell…" he suddenly smelled something from the van and covered his nose and mouth, "IS THAT?"

"Sheldon the fourth." Anny and Double-N breathed.

"What?" The two Kankers asked in unison.

"An gave their fake baby one of her nasty 'lucky cheese chunks' and stunk up the van." Anny explained.

"OH GOD, AN AND JAY ARE STILL IN THERE!" Double-N cried. Tee and Larie dashed to the back and ripped open the doors, releasing the smell into the air, Tee and Larie quickly covered their faces and gagged as An and Jay hopped out, unfazed by the odor, Jay holding the doll and An holding the offending object that released the odor and ran towards the open dumpster, "LEAVE OUR BABY ALONE!" she shouted throwing it in and slamming it closed, she then turned to Double-N, "WHAT NOW DOUBLE-N?"

"WASH YOURSELVES AND THAT FAKE BABY _THIS_ _INSTANT_!" Double-N shouted, "YOU'RE ALL _FILTHY_!" An quickly grabbed Jay and ran into the school, the smell making various students barf as they passed. Anny and Double-N pulled themselves off of the ground and Double-N looked into the van she had worked so hard on to restore, to see that it was now a soiled stink pit. She began to freak out, "I have to clean the van, but what if that _odor_ already permeated into my clothes or skin?" she began to shake, not knowing which to clean up first. Anny sighed and grabbed her by the shoulders, "Okay, Double-N, we'll clean ourselves up first, then we'll worry about cleaning the van after school." Double-N looked shell-shocked as Anny led her into the school, "You still have our spare clothes in your gym locker, right?" Double-N nodded, "We'll change after a quick shower," she looked at Tee, "You guys have spare clothes in your gym lockers? 'Cause Jay will probably need some different clothes."

"Yeah, I'll help him." Tee said, dashing to follow An and Jay into the school.

"Uh, you want me to lock up?" Larie asked them, Anny shook her head, "With the way it smells now? Nah, best to let it air out, no one will touch it in the mean time." Double-N moaned and Anny tossed him the keys, "But we'll check on it at lunch, hang on to these, if she asks you for them before then, don't give it to her." Larie nodded as Anny pushed a shell-shocked Double-N into the school, Larie looked at her keys then looked at his own. He gripped the keys and dashed into the truck and gunned it out of the parking lot.

.

.

.

After a long shower filled with Double-N's cries of "Stinky, stinky, stinky!" and "Filthy, filthy, filthy!" Anny finally snapped and shouted, "WE GET IT! IT WAS GROSS! NOW KNOCK IT OFF, YOU'RE MAKING AN CRY!" Double-N got out, wrapped in a towel, and saw that Anny was right, An was sniffling as she was getting dressed. Double-N sighed, "I'm sorry, An." she said, patting her friend on her shoulder.

"Could Sheldon the fourth really have hurt a baby, Double-N?" she asked, frightened.

Double-N sighed and picked up her own clothes from her locker and began getting dressed, "Babies aren't stationary in real life, An, they are mobile and very curious, much like you and I, but that curiosity can put them at risk. A real baby could play with the string of that charm and strangle itself, the smell from the cheese alone could suffocate it."

An sniffled, "I'm a _horrible_ mom."

"That's not true, An. You're a fantastic mom, you gave your child a…" she stiffened, trying to say something nice about the funky feta that stunk up her van, "A heart-felt gift." She managed, "You just didn't know it could be dangerous for a young child. Would you like me to find you some reference materials about baby-proofing so you can be more careful?" Double-N asked her, An nodded. Then the three got dressed and headed to their first classes. Double-N was grateful for class, she needed something to distract her from her soiled van outside, open to who knows what while the horrible odor leaked from it's open doors. In between classes she picked up a few books for An and Jay from the library as well as a few books to use to help tutor Larie in science. At lunch time, Double-N sighed, it was time to clean out the van, although she often found solace in cleaning, this was, to quote Anny, "going to seriously suck." Double-N handed over the books to An, who was surprised that she picked _only_ three books for them. "I realized that you two are busy as is, so I picked the ones with the most helpful information in the simplest terms." She said. An and Jay looked at her, gratefully, "Thanks Double-N." they said in unison. The Ans made their way to the parking lot, Tee and Jay right behind them, 'Sheldon' was held in An's arms. Double-N was ready to see her van still blasting out toxic fumes.

But instead, she saw Larie Kanker, shirtless, crawling out of the back of it, the front doors were shut and there were several plastic bags on the ground, three of which were full of Febreeze cans, the rest were filled with cleaning supplies that had obviously been used, his shirt and jacket sat on one empty bag. Larie was spraying more Frebreeze into the van, "And that should do it." he said, then turning to see his brothers and the Ans, he turned pink. "Uh, hi." He said. Double-N walked over, stunned, and looked into the van, it didn't smell anymore and the sheets had been removed, and there was no stain on the mattress in the back. Her van was clean. She turned to him, amazed, "You did this?" Larie blushed, "Yeah, well, you were pretty upset, so I thought I'd…" Double-N wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him long and hard on the lips, much to everyone's surprise. Larie's face turned crimson, his body stiff in surprise before melting away into pleased, relaxed pose, his eyes glazed over with glee. When she finally stopped kissing him, she hugged him tightly, "Oh thank you, thank you, thank you!" she cried. Larie looked as if he was on Cloud Nine, his smile was wide and goofy, his arms limp by his sides, his eyes rolled up towards the sky, as if he was silently thanking some Deity for the spontaneous kiss and hug he was enjoying.

An and Jay were stunned, both of their jaws had dropped as soon as Double-N pulled Larie into the kiss.

"Wow." Tee murmured.

"You can say that again." Anny agreed.

"Hot damn." Larie finally managed to say, his voice a bit higher then usual. After a few more seconds, Double-N released him and regained her composure, "Um, Thank you, Larie, for cleaning out the van for me…" her face was bright red, "Um, if you all will please excuse me, I, um, have to do something…" she began backing out of the parking lot and back towards the school, "So, I'll see you all later?" she asked. Larie was leaning against the back doors of the van, a dopey grin on his red face as he slid to the ground. "Okay then." She said, clapping her hands, then dashed back to the school, embarrassed.

"Can anyone explain to me what the fuck just happened?" Anny asked after a few moments of stunned silence.

"I should clean more often." Larie finally said, looking quite pleased with himself.

.

.

.

After school, Double-N drove An, Jay, Anny and Larie back to the cul-de-sac. Anny was chuckling in the back while An and Jay were skimming the books Double-N had gotten for them, 'Sheldon' was sitting in An's lap. Larie was still grinning from ear to ear from earlier and Double-N sat in the driver's seat, her face pink from embarrassment that what she did was witnessed by so many. After dropping off An and Jay at An's house, she drove to her house, where she and Larie hopped out and Anny slipped into the driver's seat.

"Try not to get pregnant!" Anny teased as she backed out of Double-N's driveway, Double-N scowled at her. Larie smiled and called out from Double-N's front porch, "Not making any promises, Anny." Double-N looked at him, embarrassed, "Larie!"

"What? You made the move on me today, if I recall." He said with a smile. Double-N blushed, "Can we please focus on our original objective here?" she asked.

"Alright, alright, calm down." He said, gently leading her inside, "Only, to be fair, having sex with you _is_ my original objective." Double-N rolled her eyes, "Yes, Larie, I know. But the objective I was referring to is far more recent."

"Yeah, I know. But I can _dream,_ can't I?" Larie asked her. Double-N sighed, smiling, "Yes, yes you can."

Anny smiled at the two as they disappeared into Double-N's house, not knowing that Sam and Jamie, who had gotten better, had heard their whole conversation and Sam dashed home, crying, leaving Jamie to run after him saying, "It's okay, Sam! It's okay! We probably heard them wrong!"

Sam ran inside his house, scaring the crap out of An and Jay, who were sitting on An's bed, reading, while 'Sheldon' was down for his 'nap', and heard as he stomped up the steps and SLAMMED his bedroom door, another person dashing behind him, "Sam! Stop!" Jamie cried, running up the steps behind him.

"What's all that about?" Jay asked. An shrugged, "I dunno. Maybe they're playing tag." Jay smiled, "Well that's nice." An smiled and nodded in agreement.

(The author face-palms at them because someone had to)

.

.

.

Anny arrived at the dance studio at 3:30, she was an hour earlier then she was supposed to be, but that was mainly because she honestly had nothing better to do; An was playing house with Jay, Double-N was 'studying' with Larie, that left homework and she didn't feel like doing that shit, so, she showed up early. Anny grabbed her bag and walked into the studio, Gladys greeted her with a big smile, "Hello Anny."

"Hi Gladys."

Gladys looked at Anny mischievously, "Tee told me you were supposed to be here in an hour, did you come to check up on him?"

"Not really, I had nothing else to do and figured I'd come in early and hang out."

"Oh, you sure you don't want to peek a little bit?" she tempted, Anny sighed, "Okay, sure, why not?"

Tee was teaching a group of cheerful, chaotic five-year-old girls, none of whom were paying any attention to a word he was saying. Anny couldn't help but chuckle at his distress.

"The best instructor, huh?" she laughed.

"Yes, well, he's better with the older ones." Gladys said, "They all just stare into his eyes and melt."

"Seriously?" Anny asked, "I mean, his eyes are nice and all, but I mean, it's _Tee_. I've been kissed by him and I don't like it." she said, shifting a bit, not sure why she felt uncomfortable saying it now, she'd said it a million times before, and meant it. She looked at Gladys, figuring it was because she was talking about the woman's grandson.

"Well, were you captivated by his eyes?" Gladys asked.

Anny flushed, "…Almost, but I snapped out of it, he can't just pull that crap on me and expect me to let him get away with it, although, it helped when I smushed his hair back down over his eyes. Honestly, even though he looks better with his hair out of his eyes, I think I like him better with his hair down, he's easier to handle." Gladys smiled at Anny, "Then you're the first to not fall for it."

"My friends haven't fallen for it either." Anny said.

"No, but your friends are being pursued by his brothers, well actually, An is _already_ Jay's girlfriend, but Ann is still keeping Larie at a distance."

"Oh, have I got some fresh gossip for you about that!" Anny smirked. Gladys smiled eagerly, "Oh?"

"Excuse me." Tee said, Anny and Gladys looked up at him, "I'm trying to teach in here."

"Yeah, great job by the way." Anny teased. Tee scowled, "I'd like to see you try." Anny smiled, "What do you want them to do?"

"A selection from Swan Lake, they _know it_, they just won't listen to me and _do it_."

"Well, with _that_ attitude, I can see why." Anny said, a few giggles slipped out from inside, "Just give me ten minutes." Anny said, pulling him out of the room and closing the door behind her. Gladys stared at her grandson with an angry pout, "I wanted to hear the gossip about Larie and Ann!"

"An and Jay got a chunk of rotten cheese in Ann's van and completely skunked it, she got upset about it since she had fixed it up herself and would have to go in and clean it, but the girls and Jay went to clean themselves up first, deciding that they were going to clean it up at lunch time. But when we all got there at lunch time, Larie had completely cleaned it for her. Ann was so impressed and happy that she kissed him long and hard then hugged him, then got all embarrassed because we all saw her and ran back into school. The. End." Tee said in one breath. His grandma looked at him, a little annoyed, "You just _have_ to rain on my parade, don't you?"

"No, grandma, I don't. And I don't like it when you ask her to come here early to spy on me."

"First of all, she came here early because _she_ wanted to, not because_ I_ asked her to. Second of all, you should be flattered she'd _want_ to spy on you. Lord knows how many times you did the same to her, so don't get all upset when she does the same." Tee blushed at that. "Third of all, she _likes_ your eyes, but she says that she will not let you _get away with anything_ just because she likes them." Tee's face felt as if it was on fire, "Really?"

"You picked a good one, Tee. _Don't mess it up_." His grandma said. Tee heard laughter from the classroom, then the music from the selection he wanted them to do, he peeked in and saw Anny chatting with the girls, giggling and goofing off and doing twirls while standing on their tiptoes.

"Some help." Tee groaned.

"She said give her ten minutes, Tee, not ten seconds." His grandma reminded, "Why don't you give Jay or Larie a call? I bet they have loads to tell you about the girls' history together, this could give you an _edge_." Tee looked at his grandma and smiled, while the boys had spend most of their lives without their mothers, their grandma was the coolest woman they knew, and other then their Ans, there was no woman they loved and respected more then their grandma. Tee sighed and walked into the back and pulled his cell out of his bag and dialed Jay's number. Mainly because, since he was staying at An's house for the parenthood class thing, he hadn't had as much time to chat with his youngest brother that he had with Larie. He sighed as he waited for Jay to pick up.

.

.

.

Jay was telling Sam how to change a diaper in An's room when his cell rang, he looked at Sam apologetically, Sam waved as if to say, 'I've got this, go.' Jay then walked to pick up his phone, "Hello?" Sam leaned over a bit so he could hear better while he wiped the dolls butt with a wet wipe and tossing it, along with the dirty diaper, into the trashcan, slipping a fresh one underneath.

"Tee? I thought you had class." Jay replied, confused, he listened for a bit, then he brightened.

"It's been going great!" Jay said happily, "Her family's really great about everything, her brother's been really awesome too! He's been helping An and I out a lot! I'm telling him how to change a diaper now." Jay was quiet again, listening. Sam quickly taped part of the diaper onto the doll and pretended to be thinking about how he was going to finish it.

"Huh… I don't know." Jay said, perplexed, "But I can ask her when she gets back..." There was another pause, then Sam put the rest of the diaper on. He looked at it closely, to make sure he had put it on right.

"She went over to Double-N's house. We're baby proofing and we want Double-N to hang on to a few things until the class is over, so we don't hurt Sheldon."

Sam heard Tee's confused voice saying, "Sheldon?"

"That's the baby's name. An really likes that name for some reason." Jay listened a little longer then said, "Okay, then talk to you later. Bye!" Jay hung up and walked back into the room, smiling at Sam apologetically, "Sorry about that, Sam."

"It's fine, look, see?" Sam said, holding Sheldon up in the air for Jay's inspection. Jay took the doll from Sam and smiled, "Nice work!" he said, ruffling his hair. Suddenly they heard An scream. Both boys dashed upstairs, but An was nowhere to be seen.

"An was at Double-N's house!" Sam reminded them. They ran to Double-N's house and burst through the front door, seeing a sobbing An helping Double-N up off the floor, her hair a little messy, shattered scissors on the floor and Larie with his mouth wide open.

"I'm _so sorry Double-N!_" An cried, tears flooding down her cheeks.

"Honestly, An, I'm fine." Double-N said, patting her hand, "I appreciate the concern, though." An finally got Double-N up on her feet.

"I'm a bad mom and a bad friend!" An sobbed.

"Not at all, An. After you tripped and threw the box, the first thing you did was check to see if I was alright, not even stopping for a moment to check your own injuries," Double-N said, indicating a small bruise where her chin would be and small scrapes on her palms, "That was very selfless of you and that's what makes you a good friend and someday, a _very_ good mother." An gave her friend a watery smile, "Double-N!" she cried, giving her a big hug. Jay looked at Larie, who was still stunned.

"What happened?" he asked his brother.

"An came in to drop off some scissors she had found in her room and she tripped on her shoelaces and accidently flung the box towards Double-N." Larie looked at Double-N, a little frustrated, "Which Double-N deflected with her _hair_. _She shattered the scissors as she fell backwards trying to avoid them, they closed on strands of her hair __and shattered__._" An let go of her friend, only for Larie grab her by the shoulders, "You've been upset how 'weak' you are, _yet your hair is so strong it can shatter scissors when they try to cut it_."

"Anny broke a chainsaw trying to cut Double-N's hair once." An told them, "Her dad was really mad." All three boys jaws dropped.

"_Why didn't you tell me?_" Larie demanded, shaking her as he spoke. "Your hair could be an _asset_ if you find yourself in danger."

"Honestly, I had forgotten about it until now…" Double-N answered sheepishly, Larie sighed, "Okay then, we'll figure out how you can use your hair to defend yourself tomorrow." He said, "Let's clean this mess up first." Double-N nodded, dashing to get a broom and dustpan, Larie took them and indicated her to take care of her friend's injuries, "I've got this." He told her. Double-N smiled at him gratefully and took An in the kitchen to patch her up. When Larie was done cleaning up, An had band-aids on her palms and an ice pack to the bruise. Jay took An's free hand and Sam led the love birds back to his house, Jamie saw him doing this from her window and ran to him, concerned, "Sam? Is your sister holding hands with a Kanker?" Sam sighed and looked back at them and told them he'd see them at home. They both smiled and nodded. "It's a long story, Jamie." He said, putting his arm around her shoulder, Jamie flushed at the gesture, "We'll need some peaches and cream."

.

.

.

Tee walked back to his classroom, ready to see them goofing off, he opened the door and Anny turned on the music, the girls danced the part he specified with grace and elegance. Tee's jaw dropped as he watched them do the whole part then he clapped along with Anny and Gladys.

"H-how?" he asked, Gladys smiling behind him. Anny walked up to him, smirking, "An, Double-N and I had jobs as Jr. Camp Councilors last summer, we had the five to ten year olds." She explained, "you just gotta know how to talk to 'um."

"Maybe Anny could help you with these little ones." Gladys suggested. The little girls cheered happily and ran to Tee, "Please, Mr. Tee! Can Miss Anny stay?" Anny cracked up when they called him 'Mr. Tee', Tee sighed, "If it's okay with 'Miss' Anny." Anny smiled warmly, "Heck, yeah, I want to stay!" she said, the girls cheered. Tee then relayed instructions of what he wanted the girls to do, then Anny would translate for him, occasionally saying "Okay, I don't even know what that is." Then the little girls would tell her and show her how, Anny would goof up on purpose and ask, "You mean like this?" making the girls laugh and do it with her. By the end of class, Anny was beloved by the children, each one saying, "Bye Miss Anny!" to her after saying good-bye to 'Mr. Tee.' Anny smiled proudly, she had not only been beloved by children, she'd shown Tee up, relived the fun of her childhood, _BUT_ she also learned things before her lesson.

"That was fun." She said, giving Tee a humongous smile, "So, what am I learning today?" Tee's face was pink as he said, "The Rumba." He said simply, taking her hands. He felt his heart bouncing against his rib cage, the Rumba was known as one of the most romantic and sensual of all Latin dances, but Anny didn't have to know that part. "Stay loose, stay on the balls of your feet and keep your knees bent." He instructed, "Stay close and do as I do. We're going to do a sort of box step to start, to get us into the rhythm, then we'll do some fancy stuff, okay?" Anny nodded, "Bring it on." She said.

As they got into the dance, Anny realized that Tee was _really_ close to her the whole time, well, not much closer then he had been yesterday, but something was different about the dance, it was almost as if he wasn't going to let her go. Anny felt a little self-conscious and even flustered as she danced with him, the dance seemed to never end, when it finally did, they both looked at each other, pink in the face. Then they both quickly let go of the other's hands and looked away from each other.

"That was good." He said, "You want to take a quick water break?"

"That sounds good to me." Anny said, walking to her bag and pulling out her water bottle, taking a chug from it. Tee slipped out to grab some water from his locker, he told Anny that he'd be right back.

"Take your time," she said, still blushing. Tee walked to the break room and pulled out his water and saw that Jay left him a text telling him to call him later, he called Jay, "Oh, hey Tee!" Jay said, "About that thing you asked about earlier, apparently Larie knows a lot about that, so you should probably ask him when he gets home."

"Is he still at Double-N's house?" Tee asked.

"Yeah, well, right after you called, An screamed, apparently she tripped and launched some scissors at Double-N, who somehow managed to _shatter them with her hair_."

"You're _kidding_!" Tee said.

"No! It's true, An was really upset about it! Larie was pissed that she hadn't told him about it, since he's helping her with a self defense class, so they're probably going to be spending more time together. I've already texted him about it, he said if you found out what's up with Double-N's hair from Anny, he'll tell you everything he knows about the three of them."

"How much does he know?"

"Apparently Double-N showed him an album with pictures of the three of them growing up, including a dance class photo that they took every week. So I'm going to guess a lot." Jay paused for a second, "Which I found pretty weird, cause I couldn't find anything like an album of An when she was little around here. I mean, she _has_ to have one because Sam has one. And she said she has old photos of her and her friends, but she can't remember where they are. She said Double-N made her an album at some point but it's lost somewhere in her room."

"Okay, well, I'll see what I can find out…" he stopped, "Hey Jay, how did you ask An out?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, how did you do it? Ask your girl out."

"We were in the video game club room, Jenny was out sick, so it was just us alone. And we were having fun and enjoying ourselves and we had a moment."

"A moment?" Tee asked, hiding his disbelief from his brother. Jay had to be one of the most girly Kanker man in history, seriously? A "moment'? What the fuck was this, some teen romance novel? What next, was he going to admit he was a fucking vampire?

"Yeah, I don't really know else to explain it…" he stopped, trying to find the words, "I guess it's a moment where you feel that anything could happen." He said, "So I asked her out. And she just smiled at me and said, 'Okay.'" He sounded really happy as he recalled getting his girl, and even a little proud of himself. Tee sighed, "Thanks for telling me, Jay, I'll let you get back to your girl, I'm still teaching Anny."

"Okay, good luck!" Jay called into the phone. Tee hung up and put the phone into his bag. Then chugged his water and walked back to Anny, smiling and shaking his head, his brother may be a total softie, but that's probably what An liked about him. He wondered what Double-N liked in Larie. And, more importantly, what could Anny like in him.

He opened the door, Anny was on the phone, "Is she okay?" she asked urgently, she listened for a few minutes before looking a bit relaxed, "Good, but seriously, how weird is that? I mean, it's like her hair was made super unbreakable because it's so close that huge brain of hers." Anny turned and noticed Tee, her eyes widened when she realized that she had been caught. She smiled at him, guiltily, and held up a finger, "Um, An, I'm going to have to call you back." She paused then said, "Because I'm still in class, Lumpy. I'll call you after it's over, okay?" She listened and then said, "Bye An." and hung up.

"Is Double-N okay?"

"How did you know…?"

"Jay called me. He and Larie were shocked that Double-N's hair is like steel."

Anny shrugged, "Yeah, well, Sock head's hair has always been a huge mystery. I mean, she hid it as a kid because she got a really bad haircut from her parents one day, but it grew back out in no time at all. She still kept the hat on because she was afraid that everyone would get upset because all that was under her hat was really long hair and make a huge fuss. When we got older she realized that no one would really care, but still, I tried cutting it for her to help her out, styling it a bit." Tee nodded, egging her on, "I tried _everything_. The scissors snapped, the hedge-clippers cracked and shattered, then I tried using my dad's chainsaw, I mean, I had _lost_ it, but it didn't even work, the freaking chain snapped like it was made of glass as soon as it touched her hair. My dad was _pissed_."

"Holy crap." Tee said.

"Yeah, her hair is super strong." Anny said, then clapped her hands, "So, what's next?" she asked him.

"Samba." He said, "Stand with your legs shoulder width apart, each time you come out of each step, you should be back to this position, okay?" Anny nodded.

After he made Anny bounce around for the Samba, she was exhausted, and because of both of their personal calls, they ran out of time before Tee's last class of the day.

"Well, thanks, Tee." Anny said, grabbing her stuff and walking out.

"Hey Anny?"

"Yeah?"

"You mind coming in early on Thursday and Friday, too? That's when I have the little girls again," he turned pink, "Since they listen to you and not me, I was wondering if you could help out…"

"Okay, see you then." Anny said plainly with a wave, then left. Tee smiled, he would have twelve more days of Anny dancing with him, alone. Seeing how both of these days had worked out so far, he was hopeful for the next twelve days.

.

.

.

At Ann's house, Larie and Ann had just finished with Larie's science tutoring for the day.

"Hey, Double-N? You never showed me that project you were working on when I was here last night." Larie reminded her, "You mind showing me tonight?"

Ann's eyes widened, "You're right! I never did show you, did I?" She looked at him sheepishly, "Sorry. It's just down the basement, follow me." She said, closing their books and ushering him to follow her past the stairs that led up to her room.

'Soon.' He told himself, 'soon you'll go up there too, just be patient.' She showed him a door underneath the stairs, "Just down here." She said, "You're taking that metal workshop class, correct?"

"Yeah. It's my favorite class." He said.

"Then you'll _really_ love this." She said, opening the door to him and turned on the lights. Larie looked down the stairs, his eyes lit up and a huge excited smile spread across his face, "Hot _damn_, Double-N, this is _awesome!_" he looked at her, "_You_ did this all by yourself?"

"Well, An and Anny have helped on occasion, but it's usually just me." She turned pink, "I was wondering if you'd like to work on some of these with me."

"HELL YEAH!" he said, his excitement radiating off of him, he grabbed her shoulders, "Of course I'd want to help you with this, I mean, this is _fucking awesome_!" He kissed her on the lips and said, "Thanks, Double-N!" then ran downstairs, "Holy _shit_, this is cool!" he shouted from the basement. Ann's face was red, her fingers gingerly touching her lips, "Double-N, you coming?" he asked. She snapped out of her little daze and said, "Coming!" then closed the door behind her as she followed him down the steps.

.

.

.

When Larie got home from one of the _best days_ of his entire fucking life, Tee was waiting for him.

"I found out about her hair, but there's not much." Larie nodded as Tee told what he knew. "Now, you know about the dance class and stuff?"

"Yeah." Larie said, telling him everything Double-N had told him the night before, including the stuff about An's family situation.

"Seriously?" Tee said, "Well that explains what Jay was talking about."

"What did he say?"

"He said An didn't really have any albums from when she was young, but her brother did, he said Double-N made one for An at one point but it's in her room somewhere. That sucks though, about An."

"Yeah, you should've seen Double-N, she was _pissed_ about how her parents ignored her."

"I would be too." Tee said, then felt the heavy atmosphere in the room and changed the subject, "So what happened after you learned about her hair of steel?"

"We worked on science for a while, then…" His eyes widened in excitement, "She showed me all these kick ass projects she does in her basement when she has spare time. They're _sick_!" he said, jumping up and down, "She asked if I wanted to help and I was like, 'fuck yes!' You should've seen this stuff, it's like the stuff you see on the sci-fi channel!"

"The way you got all excited like that, I thought you had got some." Tee teased.

"Hey, she kissed me today, didn't she?" Larie said triumphantly, "I'm getting there."

.

.

.

That night, An and Jay were exhausted so Sam helped out, he had a sleeping bag on the floor of his sister's room. It wasn't really all that much fun, he was scared something would come out of the various piles of crap and attack him or something, but he said he'd help and he was gonna help, dammit.

He had _no_ idea what he signed himself up for. The 'baby' cried roughly every hour at night, each one of them groaned and got up and took care of it, which took roughly fifteen minutes to do. The next two weeks were hell for him, he barely ate or slept at home, so he'd fall asleep on the bus and in class, he could be seen sleeping in a chair outside the principal's office during that time. Then there was the fact that Larie came to Double-N's house, like, everyday, Larie would teach Double-N how to fight, then Double-N would tutor him on whatever they could find for like an hour or so, then they'd dash down her basement, excited. How Sam knew all this, well, he would never tell. (Author: Cause he's a little creeper. SPOILER ALERT!)

On Friday they had turned in the doll and Double-N had dropped An and Jay at the house for Jay to grab his stuff to take home before she stopped off at her house with Larie again. Anny then drove the van to her house.

And while Sam was glad that 'Sheldon' was gone, grateful for sleep to return to his life, he'd actually _miss_ having Jay around all the time. While Jay would still probably be over a lot because, after all, he was still dating An, but it was like he had a big brother for a while. Jay taught him how to change a diaper, how to shave, how to give an asshole who said something nasty about An at a carwash a swirly with a sink and a plunger. And, even though Jay _had_ beaten the hell out of Sam in the past, Sam used to beat the crap out of An for no reason when they were younger too. So, in a way, it was like karma. He beat up his happy-go-lucky sister An, and Jay beat the shit out of him. Plus, fighting was something brothers did, at least that's Jay told him. Jay finished packing up his stuff and flung his bag over his shoulder, "Well, thanks for letting me stay over." He said, giving An and her family a buck-toothed smile. He gave An a kiss on the cheek as he walked to the door, "See you later." He said, then ruffled Sam's hair and said, "See ya, Sammy."

"What's happening later?" Sam asked.

"My grandmother wants to meet An and Double-N, so she invited the six of us to dinner at her house tonight. So we're meeting up at the dance studio later."

.

.

.

Anny walked into the class at 3:30, the little girls cheered when she arrived, Tee and Anny then got to work getting the little girls to dance, at 4:00 they were taking a quick water break, to Anny's surprise, An and Double-N walked in with Jay and Larie, Gladys smiling behind them.

"Hi Anny!" An said happily.

"An? Double-N?" Anny said, "What are you doing here?"

"We were invited here, Anny." Double-N said, then looked at the little ballerinas and said, "Well, aren't you all darling?" The little girls thanked her bashfully. Tee smiled and said, "Why don't we give my brothers and Miss Anny's friends a little show?" the girls all cheered happily, but when Tee went to turn on the music, but the CD player died.

"Huh?" he said, trying it again a few more times before he began starting to hit it.

"Um!" Anny grabbed his arm, stopping him, surprising him. He was used to being stronger then Anny, but he realized that Anny was probably now just as, if not more, powerful then he was now. He made a mental note not to give her a reason to pummel him. "I think it's broken." She said, letting go of his arm.

"I believe we can be of assistance." Double-N said, then whispered something to Anny, An and Jay. An and Jay nodded and ran off, Anny whispered something into Larie's ear, he looked surprised but he followed the others to the van. "While they get what we need from the van, I'll start on this," she said, indicating the CD player. Double-N began working on it while Jay and An brought in An's electrical violin, her bow, a foot pedal, a few wires and a stand for her sheet music, which Double-N pulled out of her hat and handed to Jay. Then, to Double-N's dismay, Larie brought in a box with wires on it. When she gave him an angry stare, he quickly said, "Anny told me to bring this, I don't even know what this is!" Double-N looked at Anny, "What? They wanted to know how to hula and we were going to do it for free dance time today." Double-N sighed and said, "I detest that instrument… But far be it for me to disappoint the children." Larie put it down. Jay put the stand up for An and put the music up for her while Larie helped them connect the wires and the pedal to the speaker and the violin. The boys then backed up and stood with their grandma. An looked at her feet, "Position and pose starts by fanning your toes and putting your left foot right…" she fanned her feet and turning her left foot right. After she was satisfied with her foot work, she began to play with gusto and the little girls were surprised to see how good An was. Double-N moved her hand like a conductor as An played and she fixed the CD player. Tee and Anny then reminded the girls that they were there to dance, not watch An's playing. Then An began pressing the foot petal, making her sound deeper and back again expertly. Double-N finished fixing the CD player and walked past An and walked towards the others.

"I thought that was your violin, Double-N." Jay said.

"No, Jay. An started about four years ago, she wasn't all that good at first but thanks to youtube and a little help from Anny and I, she can play anything that she hears with perfection."

"Really?" Gladys asked, amazed.

"Indeed, honestly, with her drawing ability, handwriting copying ability, and her ability to play anything she hears, I believe An will be huge in the art world some day." Double-N said. Then when Anny and Tee needed different music, Double-N pulled out a small metal circle and blew into it, An heard the sound, then looked at Double-N. Double-N played a few more notes with it, then An smiled and nodded, and began playing another song.

Gladys patted Jay on the back, "Good job, Jay." Jay flushed and smiled, "Thanks, Grandma." Double-N then walked back to them and leaned against the frame of the door, moving her hands with the beat like a conductor again.

"If you enjoy this, you'll love how she performs when Anny sings with her." Double-N told them, "It's spectacular."

"What about you?" Gladys asked, Double-N blushed, "I'm afraid I'm not as musically talented as my friends, but I do enjoy music and I adore when they perform for me."

Tee informed the girls that class was going to end soon, so Anny put the box on floor and called Double-N over to them, she sighed and groaned, "I really detest this instrument." She then walked over, sat down put little finger things on her hand and began playing a high speed song, with a bored look on her face. An hula'd with the little ones while Tee and Anny walked over to the other Kankers.

"Didn't she just say she wasn't as 'musically talented' as her friends?" Gladys asked them.

"Yeah, it's mainly because that thing is the only thing she can play. And she _hates_ it. She sings, according to her parents, but we've never heard her do it."

Double-N had found a chair and sat down, playing it with her feet while reading a book. Everyone but Anny and An looked at Double-N amazed, An continued to dance while Anny kept her eye on the time.

"And, class is over." Anny announced. The little girls and the Kankers went, "Aww!" Double-N made the 'Wah wah wahhhh' sound, making the little girls giggle, and got up, happy to be free from the instrument. The little girls's parents arrived, and the little girls waved good bye to the Kankers and the Ans as they walked out, holding hands with their parents. Except for one girl, she stood at the doorway of the classroom, peaking around the edge of the door frame. She was new to the class, it had been the first day for her, her name was Katie, she was a tiny child, she had a thick brown braid and glasses and she told them that she was waiting for her Uncle Percy. The boys tried not to giggle at the name 'Percy,' only when Percy finally arrived, all six of their jaws dropped. Percy was probably seven feet tall, everything about him was big, he had a shaved head and growled at them, then grunted at little Katie, who lit up at the sight of him, "UNCLE PERCY!" she cried happily, and gave the giant a hug. The man finally cracked a smile and hugged the tiny creature, "Hi Katie." He said in a really deep voice, "Come on, I'll take you home." He scooped her up and said, "Bye guys! See you next week!" The teens nodded and waved as the large man clomped out of the studio.

"Well now," Gladys said, clapping her hands, "Who's hungry?"

.

.

.

After dinner and while the girls going through all the boys' baby pictures, giggling and whispering to one another, Gladys took her grandsons aside, "I want you three to listen to me and remember what I am about to say to you." The boys leaned in, eager to hear what their grandma had to say.

"My great-grandkids better come out of those girls or you three will not be giving me great-grandkids at all." All three boys covered their boys and nodded vigorously.

"Um, Gladys?" Double-N asked, "Who are these people?" Gladys looked over her shoulder and pointed out each woman, "That's Bethany, she's Tee's mom. She was a ballet dancer, she gave Tee up to dance in France." She said, indicating the woman with long brown hair and the same eyes that Tee had underneath his hair, she didn't look all too thrilled to be holding her son. Anny frowned at the picture and flipped off the woman underneath the album so Gladys wouldn't see. "That's Barbra, or Babs as we called her, she's Larie's mom, she was a real sweetie, made metal jewelry, the stud Larie has in his tongue was her first piece, she was going up to sell her collection of studs to a big jewelry company, get the boys some money for their college funds, when she got into a fatal car accident." The woman had long blue hair and a huge smile as she held up her boy and kissed him on the cheek, Double-N looked pale and reached for her hat, clutching the stud from the outside, it was the woman she saw at the hospital. "Then this is April, she was a model but she stopped when she got pregnant, then after Jay was born she found out she had cancer, she died when he was four, she didn't want her son to see her suffering so she rarely let him see her." Jay's mom was tickling her son, both laughing. An looked at Jay, her eyes filling with tears.

The boys came in, confused by the looks the girls gave them, "What?" they asked in unison.

"Nothing," Gladys said, closing the book, "I just asked them if they enjoyed the pictures of you three naked in the tub." The girls couldn't help but chuckle as the boys scrambled to change the subject.

.

.

.

The dance contest was about to start, Anny and Tee had signed in already, Anny wore a red dress with a bit of a slit up the leg, it wasn't too high up but Tee certainly enjoyed it. Her shoes were nice red flats, because she was already taller then Tee, they tried to keep the height difference to a minimum. Her hair was styled and her make up was light and well applied. Tee wore a red shirt and black pants, his shoes were black. His hair was pulled back off his face, showing his eyes. The Ans and the Kankers were sitting in the front, along with the kids from the cul-de-sac, the little girls from the class were there as well, with their parents, cheering for "Miss Anny" and "Mr. Tee." Needless to say, the girls from the cul-de-sac were shocked to see Tee's eyes.

"Tee has eyes?" An asked Jay, "Well yeah, An, how'd you think he'd know Anny was around?" Jay asked.

"You can hear Anny for miles." Karen said, "He could be blind and still be able to find Anny."

"Those in glass houses should not throw stones." Double-N said curtly, An nodded vigorously in agreement.

"And those with glass bones should shut their face!" Karen threatened, Double-N smirked, "Yes, because you'd really be stupid enough to attack me when Larie's sitting right next to me?" Larie leaned over and growled at her. Karen quickly looked back at Anny and Tee, "I know Tee's a douche and all, but hot damn his eyes are hot."

"He's so dreamy!" Jamie cried.

"Even Rachel finds the Red-Haired-Kanker boy's eyes to be nice, yes?" Rachel said.

"Is it weird that we all think he's good looking because of his eyes?" Jenny asked.

"Yes." The boys said.

"Agreed." Double-N said, "They're just eyes. He's still the same person." Larie smiled at her gratefully and took her hand.

"I like Jay's better." An said, hugging her happy, blushing boyfriend.

Suddenly, An let go of Jay and Double-N stood up, fearful, the Ans looked at each other and scrambled towards the stage. The brothers opened their mouths, speaking in unison, "What's…" Jay and Larie stopped mid sentence. Anny's _sister_ walked out with a scary looking guy. Anny saw her sister and turned pale, she turned to run. Tee grabbed her in an attempt to stop her, only to be dragged as she ran out the door. Anny's sister saw her and started towards her, only to be stopped by An and Double-N, both looking pissed and ready for a fight.

"Don't you DARE!" Double-N shouted defensively.

"You leave Anny alone!" An agreed, fists clenched.

.

.

.

"ANNY STOP!" Tee shouted as she ran towards the parking lot and to the van, "ANNY!"

"WHAT?" she demanded, tears starting to fall down her face. Tee looked at her, concerned, "Why are you running? You've worked so hard, yet your sister shows up and you run away without even trying! Why?"

"Because I can't do it!" Anny cried, "I can't beat her!"

"Yes you can, I know you can." He grabbed her hand and tried to drag her back in, but instead she lifted him up into the air, "No I can't!" she sobbed, "No matter what I do, _I_ can _never_ beat _her_!"

"DAMMIT ANNY!" he shouted, his beautiful blue eyes sharp and angry, making him scarier then she'd ever seen him, "YOU'RE NOT ALONE! YOU'VE NEVER BEEN ALONE! YOU HAVE ME WITH YOU! I'M NOT GONNA LET US LOSE TO SOME BITCH WHO BROKE YOUR HEART JUST BECAUSE SHE FELT LIKE IT! EVEN BACK THEN, AT THAT STUPID DANCE CLASS WHEN YOU WERE FIVE, YOU WEREN'T ALONE! WHO WERE THE TWO PEOPLE WHO STOOD BY YOU? WHO ARE THE TWO PEOPLE WHO'VE ALWAYS STOOD BY YOU?" Anny stared at him, speechless, but he knew exactly what she was thinking.

"That's right, An and Double-N. Your best friends in the whole wide world. The two people who would do _anything_ for you. They always believed in you, they've always stood by you, and you're going to let your sister keep you from the two people who have always been there for you and truly care about you?" Anny put Tee down, sniffling, "No…"

"Good, because those two are more like your sisters then that chick could _ever_ be. Now let's kick her ass and get your sisters back." Anny gave him a watery smile and kissed him on the lips, much to his surprise. His whole body felt light and warm, his heart was beating at the speed of light, he closed his eyes, thanking whatever deity gave him a second chance, "Thanks for hooking me up." He thought. When Anny finally pulled away, Tee felt as if he was floating on a cloud.

"Come on." She said, wiping left over tears off her face and grabbing his hand, "Let's kick some ass."

"Okay." He said dreamily as she pulled him back inside.

.

.

.

An and Double-N were held in the air by their hair by Anny's sister, Jay and Larie were being held back by her partner, who was a pretty damn good fighter to be able to hold those two back with their girls in danger. The other cul-de-sac kids were frozen in fear, Sam seemed to be debating with himself about what he might do.

"PUT THEM DOWN!" Anny shouted. Her sister looked over at her, smirking, "Aww, look, pipsqueak's back." She looked at Tee and grinned, "And it looks like you have a new boyfriend" she looked at Double-N, "Sorry about that, hon."

"DOUBLE-N'S A GIRL, YOU BLIND…!" Larie shouted while trying to rescue Jay from a headlock, but her partner punched him in the gut, cutting him off.

"Larie!" Jay, Tee and Double-N shouted as he took in deep breaths to keep himself up and awake.

"Your new one's a lot nicer then this one, maybe I might take him." She purred.

"As if I'd let you." Anny growled, stepping in front of him, defensively.

"Yeah, I prefer the talented one over the ugly one any day." Tee said. An and Double-N covered their mouths to smother their laughter, but failed. Anny's sister shook them violently, making them scream in terror and pain. Sam finally got up and punched the guy holding Jay, freeing Jay but making Sam his new target.

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Everyone turned to see Gladys, looking pissed and scarier then any of the Kanker brothers ever had.

"PUT. THEM. DOWN. NOW!" Gladys shouted at Anny's sister, she obeyed. Jay, Larie, Sam, Anny and Tee raced to see if they were okay. "Honestly, this is a dance studio, not a boxing ring!" Gladys snapped at the trouble makers. "You two try another stunt like that, I'll give you a fight you'll never forget? Got it?"

"Yes ma'am" they replied in unison, glaring at the seven who the old woman had defended.

"You okay, An?" Jay asked. "She didn't hurt you did she?" Sam asked. An was starting to cry, then she hugged them both, "I WAS SO SCARED!" she sobbed. Both boys looked at each other smiling, grateful that she was okay. Double-N looked at Anny's sister, obviously ready to keep the fight going, but Larie stopped her, "This is Anny's fight. We'll get her in the parking lot later, I brought the thing you've been working on." Double-N's eyes lit up, "That's brilliant, Larie, we can finally test it!" She said excitedly, giving him another hug. Larie smiled and hugged back, then let her go along with An to wish their best friend luck.

The three had a big group hug, "Make her not know what hit her!" Double-N told her firmly.

"Get her, Anny!" An agreed.

Gladys walked over and patted Anny on the shoulder, "Karma's a bitch, so make her wish Karma was available, Anny."

"I'm on it." Anny growled, taking Tee's hand, "Ready?" she asked.

Tee smiled deviously, "You know it."

Anny's sister, who had scared all of the other competitors away when she lifted An and Double-N by their hair and started swinging them around, went first. She and her partner did a routine consisting of a lot of fast footwork, they did the quickstep, jive and the lindy hop. At the end, Anny's sister was dipped towards Anny and Tee so they were only ones who could hear her, "Can't wait to see how much you suck now, pipsqueak." She hissed.

"I can't wait until you shut up so we can go already." Anny said.

"Seriously, we're really bored, can you just get on with it?" Tee agreed. Anny's sister scowled and her partner pulled her back up. They were meet with lots of booing.

Mostly from the cul-de-sac, the Kankers, the five year olds from the class along with their families, and the families of the people who fled, scared of Anny's sister even though they probably had been practicing longer then Anny had for this contest.

Anny and Tee stepped out, looking at each other and nodding. They started with a waltz, then melted into a tango, then slid into the Cha Cha then to the Rumba, only when Tee dipped Anny near her sister, she just flipped her off, then Tee lifted her back up and they both bowed. The audience roared with applause, "Well I think the winners are obvious, Tee and Anny!" Gladys cried, handing them the trophy.

"WHAT?" Anny's sister came out with her partner, both were pissed, "How was what they did dancing?"

"Hey Larie?"

"Yeah, Double-N?"

"How good is your aim?" she asked. Larie smiled, "Perfect." He purred, pulling out what looked like a big flashlight with a dial on it. He pumped it up and aimed, then fired it at the two losers. Anny's sister and her partner found themselves caught in a net.

"What the…" Double-N turned the dial up before she said the last word, the two began twitching like mad, then she turned it down.

"Hey, kids!" Larie called, "Who wants to play 'Shock the Bullies'?" The little girls cheered and ran over as Double-N explained how it worked and let the little girls take turns electrocuting them. Double-N and Larie watch with a bit of pride, Larie's arm around her shoulder, An and Jay walk over, concerned.

"Double-N, I don't think you should let them play with that." An said. Jay nodded in agreement.

"Normally I'd agree with you two, but look at them." She said, indicating the children's glee at the bad guys' predicament. "Have you ever seen a more fitting sight?"

"No, I have not." An agreed, then held up a bucket of water, "But can I do with this?"

"What!" Karen said, "I never agreed to that!" when Anny and Tee walked up to her with the trophy.

"I think you can think of something, An." Double-N said. An smiled and whispered into Jay's ear, then he brightened and they grabbed another bucket to fill.

"We made a deal, Karen." Tee said.

"No, you guys made a deal." Karen snapped.

Tee and Anny looked behind Karen, where Jay and An were holding full buckets of water, smiling deviously. Larie and Double-N walked over, smiling. "Here, Anny." Double-N said, handing Anny the taser.

"Why did you give her that?" Karen asked, nervous.

"No reason." The two Ans said in unison. Then Anny looked at Tee, "you want in?" she asked. Tee put his hand on top of hers, and smirked, "This'll be fun." An and Jay poured the water on Karen, she cried out and glared at them, "You two are so…" Tee and Anny pressed the button and shoved into the puddle Karen was in, shocking her. Tee and Anny didn't let go for a while, not because they were overly cruel, but because they enjoyed the feeling of their fingertips touching.

"You remember now?" Anny asked when they finally stopped.

"Yeah." Karen said, "I remember." She fell over.

.

.

.

After all the little girls finished shocking Anny's sister and her partner, little Katie from the other day sat on her Uncle Percy's shoulder as he picked up the two, disgusted, then he turned to Tee and Anny, "See you on Tuesday." He said with a smile, little Katie waved happily at them as they 'escorted' the two outside into a dumpster.

.

.

.

The next weekend, Nate had another party, in which not only Nate was running around naked around his house, but Karen was running around naked around the whole town, the Ans laughed as they watched the police car chase her on TV.

"Well, everything worked out, huh?" Anny said.

"Indeed, I'm quite looking forward for her to be Larie's punching bag when he's helping me train for the next week." Double-N said coolly.

"And I'm looking forward to her explain that to her doll at home!" An laughed.

"Hey!" Tee called, his brothers waving, "You girls wanna dance?" The Ans looked at each other and said, "Sure!"


	4. All An The Family

Ann and Larie sat at her kitchen table, looking over books filled with pictures of insects and spiders.

"So wait." Larie said, holding out his hands, "You're telling me that there is a spider that uses it's web to hold an _air bubble_ so it can _breathe underwater while it hunts_." He clarified. Ann nodded happily, "Indeed, arachnids are such fascinating creatures, don't you think?"

"They're little bad asses!" Larie agreed, "Hey, I have a question. You said that spiders' silk can be as strong as steel, right?" She nodded, eager to hear his question, "Well, do you think your hair is similar to spiders' silk? I mean, your hair can break a chainsaw, for crying out loud." Ann blushed and twirled a lock of her hair with her fingers, "Honestly, Larie, I think you could be right, it's quite possible that my hair is structured very similarly to spider silk, that would certainly explain how it can be so strong yet pliable." She said, examining the hair in her hand, "I'd certainly like to investigate your theory, however, I'd like to finish our current project and test it before we go on to see if my hair really is like spiders' silk, if that's alright with you." She said, smiling.

"Heck yeah!" Larie said, excitedly, "I can't wait to try _that_ puppy out!"

"Shall we clean up and head down to start then?" Ann asked. Larie nodded eagerly. Their current project was something Larie had suggested to Ann after the Dance contest two weeks ago, she leapt at the idea, excitement gleaming in her eyes, "It sounds riveting, Larie!" She had said. Larie had been over every Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and he even spent all of the past two Sundays working on it with her, they were getting close to testing the first prototypes, they hoped to get enough progress done that night so they could be able to test it when Larie came over on Thursday. They began closing and stacking books until they both had reached for the same one and their fingers touched, they both blushed but didn't pull back their hands, they looked up at each other. Larie suddenly heard himself say, "Double-N, would you like to go out on a date with me?" the moment the words left his lips, he felt both relieved and terrified. He felt relieved for finally asking Double-N to go out on a date with him and he felt terrified because, well, he had _just asked Double-N to go out on a date with him_.

Ann's face turned bright red, a few stray hairs fell onto her face, she looked nervous and he could feel her hand shaking a bit.

"It's okay!" he said, holding up his hands, "You can get back to me once you've thought it over, okay?" She nodded bashfully and pushed the stray hairs off her face, they finished stacking up the books in silence, Larie feeling like a total idiot. "I-I need to take these upstairs." She stammered, "I-I'll be right back." She scooped up the books and dashed upstairs. He looked up at the stairs longingly, he wanted to follow her up there _so badly_, but he knew better. Ann said to take small steps and he was going to, dammit. But at the same time, he wished those small steps were the ones up to her bedroom. He watched as she scurried back down and gave him a nervous smile, "Shall we go to the basement?" she asked him. He gave her a small smile and nodded, even though they weren't up to her room, the steps to her basement still led to a pretty awesome place.

.

.

.

Down in her basement was what looked like a mini mad scientist lab, with various do-dads and thing-a-ma-bobs, there was a large encased shelving unit filled with failed inventions from over the years, Larie even recognized a few of them. There was a corner filled with jars filled with insects and arachnids, a single spider web stood alone in the top part of the corner, apparently that was where Ann's pet spider, Mildred, used to live before she died of old age, but she didn't have the heart to wipe away the cobweb.

But that wasn't what Larie was excited about, it was what was on the big table along the wall opposite from the stairwell. There were rocket-powered boots, the taser gloves and the helmet with the special one-way glass (the wearer can see out but no one could see in) all the way around the head. The glass had a few cameras and chips so it would alert the user to any danger around them that wasn't directly in front of them, as well as helped control the power in the boots and gloves as well as informed the wearer if anything was malfunctioning. Larie was so freaking proud of their recent work, he couldn't_ wait_ to try them out.

"So what do we need to do?" he asked.

"We need to download the program into the helmet as well as finish the wiring in the gloves and make sure everything charges."

"So the boots are all done?" He asked.

"All they need to do is charge." Ann informed him, "You did a fantastic job on the wiring and welding, all I needed to do was the shielding and putting the insoles in." Larie blushed at her praise, "Yeah well, your plans were well drafted and easy to follow." He said, "Even an idiot like me could figure it out."

Ann frowned at him angrily, then poked him in the chest with her finger, "You are _not_ an idiot, Larie Kanker. You are a_ very_ intelligent man and I _detest_ hearing you say otherwise." She snapped, then went over and pick up the helmet. She then walked over to her desktop and plugged the helmet into the computer and begin opening the program she had created so she could download it.

"Hot damn." Larie said, pleased that she had not only said that he was_ very_ _intelligent AND_ that he was a _man_, but that she had a_ctually gotten angry when he had called himself an idiot_.

Larie got to work with the wiring, whistling happily as he worked, not realizing that Ann was still reeling from his date offer earlier.

.

.

.

Sam was sitting in the bushes outside Double-N's house, waiting, like he always did on Tuesday and Thursday nights when Larie went over to her house to 'study' or _whatever_ they did in Double-N's basement. Larie came over on Friday nights too, but Sam wasn't sneaking around Double-N's house on Friday nights, no, he watched movies with Jamie at her house on Friday night. They'd been doing that for years, it was their tradition, it was a way for them to unwind from the week.

"Come on… come on!" he growled, glancing at his watch, it was 9:30, which was much later then Larie usually stayed at Double-N's house, normally he stayed until about seven or eight. He clenched his fists, if Larie was trying something with Double-N then Sam would wipe the floor with that douche bag. Well, most likey it'd be Sam who got his ass kicked, but, _still_.

Suddenly, he heard the door open, he saw Larie walk out, slipping on his stupid brown jacket as he made his way out to the front door. "See you tomorrow, Double-N." he said, giving her a smile. Double-N was standing in the doorway, rubbing her arm, blushing, "Um, Larie?" she said, Larie turned to look at her, "Yeah, Double-N?"

"About your inquiry earlier…" she began, avoiding eye contact and staring at her feet. Larie suddenly looked a little nervous himself, but listened intently. "Would this Friday be all right?" She asked, glancing up at him, a small smile on her face. A huge grin exploded on his face, his cheeks turned pink and his eyes lit up with glee, "Yeah! Friday's perfect!" He said eagerly, then gave her a big hug, "Thanks Double-N! You won't regret it! I promise!" Double-N blushed and hugged back, she seemed to melt a bit in his arms, her smile getting a bit bigger. After a few minutes, it finally dawned on them to let go, both of them were blushing.

"So, I'll see you at school tomorrow?" he asked. Double-N nodded, "Indeed." She said, embarrassed, "Well, Good night, Larie." she said bashfully, then walked back inside, gave him a small wave and a smile and closed the door. Larie jumped up, his fists in the air, "YES! I GOT A DATE WITH DOUBLE-N!" he cried, then ran towards the Flush and Go Trailer park repeating, "BEST! NIGHT! EVER!" Sam popped out of the bushes, jaw dropped and heart-broken as Larie cheered all the way home.

Sam then looked between the window he had been peeping into and Larie's back, trying to decide something. He saw Double-N in the window, she was smiling and blushing, her hands were under her chin, as if she needed help holding up her humongous smile. She looked so… _happy._ Sam looked back over to Larie's happy form pumping his fists in the air shouting, "BEST! NIGHT! EVER!" then dashed off to follow him, determined to figure out what the fuck just happened.

.

.

.

An and Jay were watching one of An's favorite old monster movies at the Kanker's trailer, Jay was wearing a white t-shirt and a grey hooded jacket, since it was now fall in Peach Creek, he started wearing the jacket to keep warm, as for the white shirt, well, his gray t-shirts had all been worn out so he had bought some fresh white ones, which oddly enough were what the gray shirts used to be. (White)

It was Tuesday, so Anny and Tee were giving the little girls dance lessons and Double-N and Larie were studying together and their dad was going to be working late.

Meaning Jay was all alone with An.

An cuddled up beside him, her arms wrapped around his left arm as she leaned on his shoulder. Jay leaned his head on hers, enjoying the quality time with his beloved An, but he was also a bundle of nerves. But he was determined, tonight was the night he was going to get to second base with An. He looked at his hands, and then at his beloved girlfriend's chest, not that An noticed, since she was so focused on the movie.

Since Larie was, until he started studying with Double-N, the local pervert, he had been inside the girl's locker room once or twice and found out their girl's bra sizes a while back. Jay remembered what his brother had whispered into his ear after Tee told him off for sneaking around the girl's locker room and had stormed off, "D-Cup, Jay. An's a _D-Cup_." Jay felt his face blush, as he looked at An's chest.

They had been dating for a little over two months now, he had taken her to a theater three towns over where they were playing an old, never been seen before monster flick that she had only heard _rumors_ about, as a surprise for their two month anniversary. When she finally saw the name of the film on the theater, she had been _so happy_ that she pulled him into a tight hug, however, Jay had not been totally prepared for it and accidently cupped her chest with his hands, it was an awkward ten seconds before the movie was about to start and Jay quickly lead her inside. The incident quickly slipped her mind as she enjoyed the film, but Jay was a little distracted and didn't pay much attention as he reeled from the accidental boob touch. Jay could still remember how they felt in his hands for that brief second and felt his face burn.

He almost shook his head, but it was on An's so she'd notice, so he just sat there and scolded himself. What was he doing? This was An! She wouldn't be comfortable with that kind of thing, that was something that Larie didn't even try to do anymore.

But… he watched as his hands quaked, he wanted to feel them one more time. Just _one more time_.

His hands stopped shaking, he was going to go for it, if she got upset, he could say he was trying to pull her closer to him so they could cuddle more and didn't mean to touch them. He felt bad about his deceptive back up plan, but his heart wouldn't able to take her hating him again. He took in a deep breath, and slowly reached for her chest, but just as he was about to make his move, the door burst open, causing Jay to retract his hand back to his side.

"BEST! NIGHT! EVER!" Larie cried, scaring the crap out of An and causing her to pull Jay close and hug him, scared by the noise. Jay held her close, comforting her, then looked at his brother.

"What's the big idea?" he demanded, a little relieved that his brother ruined his chance to grab his girlfriend's chest but pissed that he had scared her. Larie looked at him, his eyes bright with glee and a big grin on his face, "I GOT A DATE WITH DOUBLE-N THIS FRIDAY!" he shouted excitedly, pumping his fists in the air. Jay and An separated a bit and smiled at him.

"That's awesome!" Jay said, truly happy for his older brother, An nodded in agreement, pleased to hear her friend was going out on a date.

To be honest, An and Anny had been a little worried about Double-N when it came to dating. Mainly because she seemed to have no interest in it at all, she was always sticking her face into a book or making something. Anny and An were kind of getting worried that she'd never find someone she liked or when she did that she'd be too shy to make a move. So An was happy that her friend had someone she liked and that she was putting herself out there. That and if Double-N and Larie started going out too then they could double date! An could hardly contain her excitement, she was _definitely_ in her happy place.

"Yeah! I'm going to call Tee and tell him!" Larie said, beaming, then he leapt up the stairs, his thumb quickly tapping on the buttons on his phone as he dashed into their room.

"An!" A shrill male voice called from behind them, "It's time to go home." An and Jay turned to see Sam, his arms crossed over his chest, both teens pouted.

"But Sam…!" An whined, as the love birds clung to each other.

"Dad said you had to come home, An." Sam said firmly, An's head sunk down into her chest. Jay gave her a peck on the cheek, making her perk back up, "I'll walk you two home." He said, slipping his fingers in between hers. An blushed and smiled widely at him as Jay turned off the TV and walked her and her brother out of the trailer and back to the cul-de-sac.

Sam stared at An and Jay walking in front him, holding hands and looking at each other lovingly. But instead of shaking his head with a smile like he usually did, he wondered if Double-N and Larie soon be doing this too. Sam shook his head, determined, "Not if I can help it." he growled.

.

.

.

Tee was driving home after dropping his grandma off at home when he got a call from Larie, he put on the Bluetooth, but before he could even greet his younger brother, Larie shouted into the phone, "I GOT A DATE WITH DOUBLE-N!" making Tee nearly drive off the road due to the sudden blast of noise that exploded out of the speakers.

"WHAT THE FUCK, LARIE! YOU NEARLY GOT ME KILLED! I NEARY DROVE OFF THE ROAD BECAUSE YOU SHOUTED INTO THE FUCKING PHONE AND SCARED THE SHIT OUT OF ME!" Tee shouted back into the phone. The phone was quiet for a second, then he heard his brother, remorseful, say, "Sorry, Tee. It's just…" his voice got excited once again, "I asked her out after she taught me a bit about entomology…"

"Ento-what?"

"It's the study of bugs and stuff, like did you know spider's silk is as strong as steel when stretched right?"

"Are you serious?"

"Yeah! Spiders are actually pretty fucking cool. Did you know that there's this one spider that uses it's silk to trap air so it can breathe underwater to hunt?" he asked, excited. Tee smiled, ever since Larie started spending all this time with Double-N, he was happier, his grades were better, and he brought home these _awesome_ paintings and _amazing_ metal sculptures home from school, he even got in less fights. Overall, Double-N was slowly opening him up to the world more and helping him finally start reaching his potential.

"Anyway, I learned that spiders are bad ass little fuckers," Larie went on, "I asked Double-N if spider silk was like her hair, because her hair is like fucking steel, she said that she thought that I was right and that it's possible that the way her hair is structured is similar to spider silk…"

"So you're going out with Spider-Girl?" Tee joked.

"Shut up." Larie said, but Tee could tell he thought the joke was a little funny.

"Enough about spiders, tell me what actually happened." Tee prodded, chuckling.

"Okay, so we finished studying bugs and we were putting her books away and we both grabbed the same book at the same time, then we kind of stared at each other for a minute, blushing, and I asked her if she wanted to go out on a date with me." Larie gushed, "She seemed a little nervous, so I told her to think about it for a bit and let me know. Then we went down her basement and finished the prototype for this kick ass project we started on together. Then when I was leaving to go home, she asked me if _this Friday would good for our date_!" He blurted, ecstatic. "Can you believe it? _I've got a date with Double-N this Friday_!"

"Congrats, man." Tee said, truly happy for him, but at the same time, a little jealous that Larie managed to get a date with his girl.

Not that he and Anny hadn't progressed at all since the dance contest, in fact, they had been getting along pretty well, she even greeted him with 'Hey Tee!' everyday at school instead of growling, 'Kanker…" like she used to. The Ans and Kankers even started eating lunch together after the dance contest, much to everyone else's surprise. Tee even got to dance with her in front of the little girls tonight during free dance when the girls asked them to dance together like they did for the contest two weeks ago, their eyes big and pleading. Needless to say, he and Anny had amazed the little girls with their skills, some of the little girls had come up to him after class while Anny was chatting with a few of the other little girls and asked, "Is Miss Anny your girlfriend, Mr. Tee?" he had blushed and whispered, "Not yet, but keep your fingers crossed for me, okay?" the little girls giggled and said that they would, then ran off to tell the other little girls, who giggled and held up their crossed fingers, he sighed but couldn't help but smile at them. The little girls had a recital on Saturday and he and Anny were in for a rough couple days, but he had a feeling they'd manage, plus it'd be a great way for them to bond more.

"Thanks, Tee." Larie said, "I have a plan for this and everything. I'll get my girl, just you watch!" he said confidently. Tee agreed and told him that he'd see him at home, then hung up.

His joy for his brother's happiness turned a little bitter as he drove home in silence, both his brothers had the courage to ask their girls out and looked what happened; Jay and An had been dating for over two months now and Larie had a date with Double-N.

But what about him and Anny? Yeah, sure they were getting along better now, but when was he going to get that moment that Jay had talked about with Anny? He shook his head, he couldn't just rely on lucky breaks to get his girl to fall for him, if he wanted Anny, he'd have to just work harder to get her… but _how_?

.

.

.

Jay and Sam were walking back to the Kanker's trailer, after Jay had walked them home, Sam said he'd walk Jay back, much to An and Jay's confusion.

"I want to talk to him for a bit anyway." He said, acting as if it wasn't a big deal. Now, while An and Jay were not the brightest people in the world, they both realized that whatever he was going to talk to Jay about was probably something private that he didn't want An to overhear. So An gave her boyfriend a kiss goodnight and her little brother a goodnight hug in case she fell asleep before he returned from the trailer park and waved at them as they made their way back to the Flush and Go Trailer park.

"So what did you want to talk about?" Jay asked Sam. Sam rubbed the back of his neck, "Remember when you first came to the cul-de-sac?" he asked, catching Jay by surprise. Jay strained himself to remember the details of the day, but all in all, it had been a rollercoaster ride of a first day in Peach Creek.

"Bits and Pieces." He replied.

Sam sighed and refreshed Jay's memory.

.

.

.

(FLASHBAACCKKKK!)

.

.

.

Karen and Rachel were chatting with Nate while Jenny was talking to a piece of wood, "Plankette." (Author: -Gasp- I gender-bended Plank? ... Heck yeah I did!) Sam and Jamie were playing hopscotch in the road, a little box of chalk next to them. The Ans were nowhere to be seen, so it was quiet and peaceful… Well, at least, it was _supposed_ to be.

The Kankers seemed normal-err… normal-_ish_ enough at first. They walked up to them and smiled. The kids had no idea how much they'd come to fear those smiles in years to come, so at the time, the smiles seemed innocent enough.

"Hiya." Tee had said, giving them his classic smirk, "We're new here, we just moved into the Trailer Park nearby, we heard there were kids our age around here, so we came to introduce ourselves. I'm Tee Kanker."

"I'm Jay Kanker!" Jay said with a snort.

"And I'm Larie Kanker, we're the Kanker Brothers." Larie said, shoving his hands into his pockets and popping his gum.

The other kids looked at each other and shrugged, 'they may look strange but at least they can't be as bad as the Ans' they thought.

"Hey, dudes, I'm Nate." Nate said with a friendly wave, glad that there would be more guys around to hang out with.

Oh sure, Sam was around, but Nate wanted guy friends his own age and Sam always hung out with Jamie, so when he saw the three brothers, he perked up a bit, excited at the potential for him to have guy friends. "This is Karen and Rachel." He said, indicating who was who. He then indicated Jenny and Plankette, "That's Jenny and Plankette." Then he pointed to Sam and Jamie, "And over there are Sam and Jamie." Just as he introduced them, Jamie accidently wiped a line from their game off. "Oh darn." She said, her voice a little warped by the headgear.

"Don't worry, Jamie, I've got it." Sam said sweetly, he reached into the box of chalk and pulled out several small, slobber-covered chicken bones, Jamie cried out in fright, "Are those bones?" The other kids, Kankers included, looked over at them. While the other kids were concerned, the Kankers seemed to think it was interesting and cool, even funny, their eyes bright with excitement as they chuckled. Sam crushed the bones in his hands, his face turning red with rage.

"Duck and cover, dudes." Nate advised, as he and the other kids covered their ears as Sam shouted, "AN!" The Kankers' eyes widened as if they had found an answer they'd been searching for, Jay grabbed Sam, lifting up off the ground with one hand, "With one N or two?" he asked. Sam looked confused, "One, but how did you…?" Jay dropped him, no longer interested in hearing from him, and looked at his brothers. Larie walked up to Jenny and asked, "Is there one with two Ns also here?"

"You mean Double-N?" Jenny asked, confused, she then looked to the piece of wood in her hands "Plankette says, 'Yeah, why, do you know her?'" Larie looked at Tee who grabbed Nate by the shirt collar, "And is there an Anny here too?" Nate nodded, "Yeah, they all live here, why? Did they do something?"

"I betcha they tried to scam you too, huh?" Karen said, then scoffed, "Those girls ruin _everything_." The brothers stiffened at that.

"What did you just say?" Jay asked, shaking.

"I said 'those girls ruin _everything_.'" Karen repeated, Nate nodded in agreement, not knowing her little comment would result in the first of many painful beatings they would all receive from the Kanker brothers.

"Agreed, those Good-For-Nothing An girls often cause trouble around here, yes?" Rachel agreed. The brothers began to shake more violently as the rest of them joined in.

"Yeah! What a bunch of block heads! Especially my sister, An." Sam chuckled.

"Those Ans are a bunch of trouble-makers!" Jamie whined.

"Yeah!" Jenny then stopped and said, "Plankette said those girls have to stick together because no one else would want to be with an idiot, a nerd and a loud mouth!" The other kids laughed, but the Kankers had reached their limits. Jay grabbed Sam and Jamie and painfully tied them into a knot. Larie threw Plankette into the sewers then hammered Rachel and Jenny into the ground with his fists.

Tee grabbed Karen and Nate by their necks and twisted them so they looked as if their heads were on the wrong bodies.

"What's your problem?" Karen demanded.

"We've been looking for those girls for a while now, so we could claim 'um as ours, but since they're not here right now, we'll explain how this is gonna work before we beat 'ya to a pulp." Tee said, smirking.

"The Ans are ours!" Jay declared, "If anyone else tries to take 'um from us, we'll beat 'um to a pulp!" he then demonstrated by slamming Jamie's braces into the concrete and yanking back. When he finally let go, the two kids took turns having their faces slammed into the concrete.

"If anyone tries to hurt 'um, we'll protect our girls and beat the punks to a pulp." Larie explained, "If anyone says anything bad about our girls, we'll beat 'um to a pulp." He then grabbed Jenny's and Rachel's hair and their tongues and tied them together, he then pulled their hair and tongues and watched as their heads slammed together. Tee put his face close to Karen and Nate's "And if you don't tell us where our girls are right now, we'll beat you until you wish you _were_ pulp." He growled. The kids looked at each other, terrified. Jenny leans towards the sewer, "What's that, Plankette?" she asked, then strained herself to hear the silent wood speak, "They're in the swamp collecting bugs for Double-N's collection?" The boys smiled, Tee indicated for Larie to pull Jenny out of the ground, "Thank you for your assistance." Tee said, then nodded at Larie, who then smiled darkly as Jay lifted the lid to the sewer and then Larie threw her into the sewer, where her head got stuck on the way down. Jay hopped on her head for a bit, but she didn't budge. The brothers looked at her for a minute, then shrugged, going back to the other kids, their faces pulled in demonic grins.

"I-I thought you said that you wouldn't beat us to a pulp if we told you where they were!" Nate said, terrified.

Tee smirked, "I never said anything like that."

"But we _did_ say that we'd beat whoever insulted our girls to a pulp." Larie said, pulling Rachel out of the ground while Jay stopped the two younger kids from smashing further into the cement. Tee grabbed Nate and Karen, all three brothers looking like demons, "Yeah, let's make sure they remember that from now on." Jay said as the brothers dropped them in the center of the cul-de-sac. The five kids cowering as the Kankers demon shadows grew over them.

.

.

.

(End of flashback)

.

.

.

Jay looked at Sam sheepishly, "Oh, yeah… Sorry about that."

Sam shook his head, "It's fine." He said, kicking a loose stone on the ground. "I _kind of_ deserved it. I was a total jerk to An and her friends before Mondo-A-Go-Go…" He bit his lip, "To be honest, _I used to beat An up for no reason all the time back then._" Jay stopped dead in his tracks, Sam walked a little further before stopping as well, and looked back at Jay, looking ashamed of himself.

"What? What do you mean?" Jay demanded, angry to hear that Sam used to abuse his older sister for no good reason. And, while Jay wasn't exactly innocent in causing An grief over the years, he had not, nor would he _ever_ hurt her.

Sam sighed and looked away, "Whenever I got angry about something, I'd hurt An _as if it was her fault that I was angry_. I treated my sweet idiot of a big sister like crap. So, I deserved all those beatings you and your brothers have given me over the years." Sam admitted, his head down. Jay didn't know what to say, while he was completely enraged that Sam used to hurt An, his _own sister_, for no fucking reason, Sam seemed legitimately upset about what he had done and seemed sorry that he had been an abusive asshole. But still, Sam had hurt An before, how did Jay know that Sam wouldn't do it again? Jay began debating whether or not he should fucking murder Sam right then and there.

Sam knew he had just possibly lost Jay as a big brother figure forever, but at the same time, it seemed fitting, he lost a brother for hurting his sister. But it still hurt. He _liked_ having Jay as a big brother figure, and because of his own stupid anger issues, he could've lost one of the best male role models he had ever _had_. All because he had to be an abusive dick to his sister all those years ago, he wanted to tell him that wished he could rewind and erase his cruelty to An from history, but he knew that Jay wouldn't give two craps about that. He and his brothers had warned Sam and the others what would happen if anyone ever hurt their girls, and the Kankers were pretty good about keeping their word. He wondered if Jay was going to beat the crap out of him right there and then, not that Sam could blame him, if Sam was in Jay's situation, he'd fuck himself up pretty bad. But Jay did nothing. He just stood there, fuming. Jay looked up at Sam, looking angrier then Sam had ever seen him look before, "Listen the _fuck_ up, because I'm only going to say this _once."_ he seethed, "If you _ever_ hurt An again, I _will kill you_ and make it look like an _accident_." Sam nodded vigorously, fearful of Jay's wrath and surprised that he was swearing, since Jay was the only Kanker he knew to not swear. But Jay was also furious at him, so it made sense.

"The only reason I'm not murdering you right now is because, lucky for you, your sister's one of the sweetest and gentlest people in the world and she'd be upset if anything were to happen to you, even if you _are_ an_ abusive_ _shithead_."

Sam nodded again, his chin tucked to his chest. "That's fair." He said, his hands in his pockets and staring at his feet.

They stood there for a long time again, both quiet.

Jay punched a tree, making it fly somewhere into the dark abyss of the night and walked briskly past Sam, he didn't say anything else to him, nor did he ruffle his hair like he normally did when he passed him. He was mad, _really_ mad, but he was a little glad that Sam had been honest with him, even knowing that Jay could easily beat the shit out of him again for hurting his girl for all those years. Sam and Jay continued walking, the noises of the night and their shoes crunching through fallen leaves seeming to try to make up for the loss of conversation, but they weren't helping much.

"But that's not what I wanted to talk to you about." Sam finally said, staring at his shoes as they walked, "I wanted to ask how you knew An, Double-N and Anny before you even moved here."

Jay rose his eyebrows at that, then smiled a bit for the first time since they had left An behind, recalling the first time he had ever saw her, "You wanna know when we _really_ met the Ans?" he asked. Sam looked at him, and nodded. Jay stopped, counting down the years on his fingers, "Well, to be honest, we met the Ans roughly six years before we moved here so we were about…" Jay thought about it for a minute, "Six years old?" he guestimated.

"Six?" Sam cried, shocked.

"Yeah, 'ya see, our dad was looking for work at the time, he had just lost his job and was trying to find a new one, but we couldn't afford daycare or anything like that and he couldn't take us with him. But there were these 'free admission days' for kids at this museum nearby, so our dad kind of dropped us off there and left us to find ways to amuse ourselves while he was gone…"

.

.

.

(Flashback #2)

.

.

.

The six-year-old Kanker brothers are at a museum, playing on the skeleton of a T-Rex, well, Larie and Tee were playing on it, Jay was looking up at the T-Rex's skull and said "I don't think Mr. Rex likes us playing on 'um, guys." Jay's blonde hair was in a bowl cut and he wore a gray t-shirt and orange shorts and his buckteeth were much longer compared to his other teeth back then.

"He's dead, Jay!" Larie said, swinging on a rib like a monkey, "He doesn't care." Larie wore a black t-shirt and green overall shorts, his short blue hair was messy on the top of his head, it wasn't long enough to cover his eyes yet, so both of his eyes were visible.

"Yeah! And even if he wasn't, I bet we could beat this bunch of bones." Tee said, stomping on the T-Rex's toes to make a point. He wore a white t-shirt and jean shorts, his red hair barely covered the top of his blue eyes.

The doors to the museum opened and three girls came in, first a tall girl their age with her red hair pulled back into a ponytail, a huge grin on her face. She had no chin and she had a unibrow, she wore a red and white striped t-shirt and a jean shirt, both have stains on them. She sees the boys playing on the T-Rex and points to them, "Look, they have a playground, Double-N!" she cries. A short girl with pink hair down to her shoulders looks over at the boys, she wore a yellow dress with a purple ribbon around her waist and face-palmed, "That's a dinosaur, An, not a playground. Those guys are just being stupid." The middle girl was somewhere between her friends in height, she wore a black hat over her hair, little tufts of black hair came out the back, looking like pigtails, she wore a purple dress with a red shirt underneath, she gasped, revealing a gap in between her two front teeth, "Oh my!"

"Hey!" A security guard shouted angrily, "You kids get off of there!"

"Run, boys!" Tee shouted, and Larie leapt off the bones and they ran to Jay, ready to scoop him up, but the security guard smacks into a bone and knocks it over, making the _entire_ T-Rex skeleton collapse, Tee and Larie ran to get their brother away from the falling head, but as they reached to grab him, they saw the skull plummeting down towards them, Larie and Tee grabbed their brother and put themselves over him, trying to shield him from the falling skull's knife like teeth, but just as it was about to fall on them, it stopped. Jay looked up, confused, only to see the girl with the red ponytail holding the skull with one hand, a light overhead shining behind her head, looking like a halo, "Are you okay?" she asked reaching out her other hand to help him. Jay looked at her with awe, nodding, his face turning red, 'An angel.' He thought, taking her hand, his heart beating wildly in his chest and his hand tingling as he took hers.

She pulled him up and her friends rushed over, asking if she was okay and inspecting her for injuries, once they saw she was fine, the girls helped his brothers up, both of their jaws had dropped, shocked. They'd never met _a girl_ who was strong enough to hold up something as heavy as a Dinosaur skull with one hand before.

"Who _are_ you?" Jay asked in disbelief.

"Oh, how rude of us," the one with the hat said, "This is An, with one 'N'." She said, indicating the red-haired angel Jay was gawking at, still holding her hand, An gave him a cheerful smile that made his palms sweat and a goofy smile curl up his cheeks. The girl with the hat then indicated their short, pink haired friend, "This is Anny." Ann set her jaw and slipped her hand out of Tee's and put both hands on her hips, making a sassy pose, "You're lucky An's so strong or you three'd be goners!" she snapped. The boys looked at her, shocked, no child, boy _or_ girl had _ever_ had the guts to _talk_ to them like that, _ever_. "And I'm Ann, with two Ns, but my friends call me Double-N. We're the Ans." She said shaking Larie's hand. "Who might you three gentlemen be?" she asked. All three boys were now completely taken aback, they'd been called many things in their brief six years of life, but nothing like 'gentlemen.' The security guard popped out of a pile of bones, "LOOK WHAT YOU BRATS DID!" he shouted.

Brats. Now that was something the boys were _used_ to being called, they looked at the man, unimpressed by his insult, the girls, however, looked baffled and insulted.

"Brats?" An asked, shocked and a little hurt. Her smile sank into a small frown, Jay suddenly felt rage surge through him. _That guy had just called his angel a brat_.

"What _we_ did?" Anny snapped, "You knocked it over, ya' jerk!"

"Indeed!" Double-N agreed, "You nearly killed these three!" she said, pointing to them. The guard pulled himself out of the bones, looking pissed, An suddenly looked scared, "RUN AWAY!" she screamed, throwing the skull at the guard, smashing him and the skull into the wall. Tee grabbed his brothers and dragged them away, Larie quickly snapped out of it and helped him pull Jay, while Anny grabbed her friends as they ran in the opposite direction while saying, "HA! Nice one, An!" An and Jay held hands for a few more seconds before they were finally pulled apart, An giving him a small wave as she was pulled farther away. Jay felt his heart ache as his angel escaped from view. "An, huh?" he said to himself, "Must be short for 'Angel'."

.

.

.

The boys finally stopped in a narrow hallway, Tee and Larie started chuckling, "did you see how that girl chucked that skull at that jerk?" Tee asked Larie.

"Yeah!" Larie laughed, "That was funny!" Jay smiled widely at the thought of her throwing the skull to save them, "I think I'm in love, guys." He said dreamily. His brothers looked at him, shocked, "Love?" they said in unison, grossed out, as most six-year-old boys would be hearing one of their fellows had fallen for the fairer sex. Jay nodded, a happy, yet dopey expression on his face. His brothers looked at each other in panic, then to Jay.

"Gross!" Larie said, "Girls have cooties!"

"With who?" Tee asked.

"An." he said, feeling all tingly just saying her name, "The one who threw Mr. Rex's skull at the mean security guard." His brothers looked concerned, but as Tee was opening his mouth to speak, they heard another voice. "HEY! YOU THREE!" They looked to see it was the security guard from before, he looked kind of beat up from having a dinosaur collapse on him then having its head smash him into a wall, but he looked more mad then hurt.

"Run!" Tee shouted, the three of them ran for it, but the guard grabbed Larie, "GUYS!" he cried, struggling against the guard's grip. His brothers quickly ran back and kicked the guard hard in the shins, the guard howled and dropped Larie, his brothers caught him, but all three fell to the ground from the force of his fall, then they quickly realized that they were now trapped against the wall. It didn't matter which direction they tried to run, they'd be caught either way. A smirk crawled up the guard's face as he reached down for them.

"LEAVE THEM ALONE YOU BRUTE!" A girl's voice called, the three girls from earlier ran in front of them, looking determined and defensive. An in front of Jay, who felt his heart soar at the sight of his angel again, Anny in front of Tee and Double-N standing in front of Larie, looking _pissed_. The guard laughed, "Aw, isn't this cute? You three have your little girlfriends protecting you." He teased. Anny and An helped Tee and Jay up while Double-N pulled out a sample perfume spray and a cigarette lighter from under her hat.

"Well what are you going to do with that?" the guard asked her, chuckling. Double-N glared at him, "I _detest_ bullies." She snapped, "And you are about to be taught a lesson you shall not soon forget!" she said, her body shaking with rage.

"What kind of lesson would that be?" he asked, laughing so hard, tears were leaking from the corners of his eyes.

"What happens when compressed air comes into contact with an open flame!" she said, opening the lighter and turning it on, then pressing the sampler behind the flame and pressing the spray button on top, creating a giant fireball that was headed straight towards the guard's grinning face. The guard yelped and backed away from the flame. Larie's jaw dropped and his face turned pink, he'd never met anyone so _awesome_, boy or girl,that could turn a lighter and a sample spray of perfume into a _stinkin' flamethrower_. "Whoa..." He murmured, his heart pounding as he watched Double-N stomp towards the guard, her friends cheering for her as she yelled at him, "I ABSOLUTELY _DETEST_ BULLIES!" she sent another fireball as she said the word 'detest'. "DO YOU HEAR ME? _DETEST! ABHOR! DISPISE! HATE! I HATE HATE __HATE BULLIES_!" she shouted, making more fireballs as she said words that meant hate. Larie couldn't stop watching her as she, _a six-year-old_ _girl_, scolded a _grown man_ while sending _fireballs_ at him for picking on him and his brothers, she had to be the _coolest girl he'd ever seen_. "Hot darn..." he whispered, his face now turning red and feeling like he had eaten butterflies and they were now fluttering inside his stomach.

"WAY TO GO, DOUBLE-N!" Anny cheered as the guard fled, his pants on fire.

"HE'S A LIAR, LIAR, PANTS ON FIRE!" An laughed. The others laughed as well as she walked back and offered Larie her hand, "Are you alright?" Larie took it quickly, feeling his hand tingle as it touched her skin. "Yeah." He said, his face red, "Thanks." He held her hand for a few more seconds before turning redder and letting go, making Double-N giggle. They heard the sound of hissing steam, then the guard shout, "I'M GONNA MURDER YOU SIX!" Double-N inspected her perfume sample and looked to the others, panicked, "it's empty!" she cried.

"RUN! AGAIN!" An cried, grabbing her friends as Tee scooped up his brothers again and they dashed out the other side of the hall and went in opposite directions. Larie and Jay looked at what would eventually be known as _their_ Ans, their cheeks red and big goofy grins on their faces.

.

.

.

The boys were panting, hiding in the cafeteria under a table.

"I think we lost him." Tee said, falling to the floor.

"How awesome was that Double-N girl?" Larie blurted excitedly, "I mean, she threw _fireballs_ at that guy! Aw man…" He looked at Jay, "I think I'm in love too!" Jay smiled and high fived his brother. Tee scowled at them, "Girls are _gross_!" he stated, his brothers looked at him, taken aback, "Not those girls." Jay said, "They're cool."

"Yeah, I mean, Jay's girl is super strong and mine can make a flamethrower out of a lighter and a little sprayer thingy." Larie agreed.

"They are _not_ cool." Tee snapped, glaring at his brothers. Suddenly Jay saw the girls, walking up to the lunch line, chatting.

"Hey look! There they are!" he said. They looked at them from under the table, when their stomachs started to growl.

"We almost forgot about lunch." Tee said, holding his grumbling tummy. His brothers held their stomachs, wincing, "But we didn't bring anything, and we don't have any money." Larie reminded him.

"Hey." Anny said, sticking her head under their table, surprising them, "You guys want to eat with us? Our parents gave us some money for lunch and we'd be happy to share with you three." She informed them. Larie and Jay nodded gratefully and leapt out from under the table, running towards their Ans, who smiled and waved as they approached. Tee looked at her, stunned, no one was _ever_ nice enough to share anything with them, "Why would you want to share with us?" he asked. Anny looked at him incredulously, "Because it's lunch time and you guys don't have lunch. You must be hungry, so come on." She said, grabbing his hand and pulling him with an impressive strength for someone her size and gender. Tee felt his face grow hot as Anny pulled him to join his brothers and her friends in the lunch line, his hand tingly in hers and he felt as if he was walking on air. 'What's with these girls?' he wondered as they got lunch and sat down, munching happily on hamburgers and hotdogs and slurping down juice boxes. As soon as they finished lunch, Double-N looked at them, "We never did get your names." She reminded them, as they opened their mouths to tell them, the security guard grabbed the boys from behind, "Gotcha, you little brats!" he cried.

Anny hopped on the table and pointed to the man, screaming "STRANGER DANGER! STRANGER DANGER!" making all eyes fall on him, when he looked around to explain himself to the angry looking adults and teenagers glaring at him. Tee and his brothers looked at the girls, Anny made crying faces for them to mimic. They nodded and pretended to be upset, rubbing their eyes like they were crying, the adults and teenagers got up, pissed at the man for picking on little kids. Then Anny bit the guard and each Kanker was dragged away by one of the Ans as their angry elders beat the crap out of the guard. All three boys' faces were red and each had a goofy smile on his lips as he reveled in holding his An's hand. They made it to the front where the T-Rex had once stood, all of them panting and leaning against the Skull that An had thrown earlier.

"What's with that guy?" Anny asked.

"Who knows?" Tee replied with shrug.

"He certainly is persistent." Double-N commented.

"He's also a poop-head." Larie added.

"Why won't he leave us alone?" An cried.

"Cause he's mean." Jay answered.

"And he's also right next to you." The guard informed them. They all screamed and ran, but the guard grabbed the Ans this time, he had Anny by the hair and Double-N by her hat (which she clung to with all the strength she could muster to keep it on her head) in one hand, and he had An by the neck in the other. The girls stared at him, terrified. The Kanker brothers stood there, dumbfounded. They could've just ran and left them, but these girls were _special_. These girls _**actually**__ cared about them, _even though they were total strangers, _and_ they had helped them all day. They couldn't just abandon them, but what could they do?

"You three little girls have gotten on my last nerve." He glared at An, "With you and your freakish strength, thanks for throwing this freaking skull at me, you no-chinned, unibrowed ginger freak!" An stared at him, heartbroken, her bottom lip quivering, her eyes watering. Jay felt rage re-surge through his body, but this one was unlike any he had ever felt in his entire life. The beautiful angel who saved him and his brothers, the one who had stood up for him and held his hand, was now in danger and he _didn't like it_. He felt as if he was literally burning with rage. He began grinding his teeth.

The guard looked at Double-N, "And you, thanks for setting me on fire!" he snapped, Double-N whimpered and clung to her hat, "What's the matter, sweetie? Bad haircut? Or are you trying to hide that huge ugly gap in your teeth?" Double-N looked as if he had just punched her, tears started rolling down her cheeks, her chest bouncing as she started to sob. Larie felt as if someone had set a fire in his stomach and the fire had spread through his entire body. The coolest girl in the whole wide world was _crying_ because of the man dangling her in front of him. He was itching to rip the guy into a million pieces, he began to shake like an earthquake from anger.

Anny glared at the guy, "WHO THE HECK DO YOU THINK YOU ARE, JERK FACE?" she demanded, looking ready to start a fight. The guard glared at her, "I'm the guy who you bit, you pipsqueak! Honestly, just shut your big mouth, fish face!" Anny looked hurt by his words, but she kept herself from crying, resulting in her giving him an angry, hurt look. Tee felt a prick of anger grow into a raging inferno of fury. Now Tee had no idea why he had stopped running or why he was particularly angry, but he _did_ know that the Kankers _never_ let _anyone_ hurt someone they cared about. And they, for whatever reason, _**really**__ cared about these girls_. He looked at the pile of bones, his mind reeling.

"And I'm also the guy whose going to call your parents and let them know _exactly_ what you three did today." The girls' eyes widened in panic, "NO!" they cried out in unison. Tee then dashed over to the bones, grabbed one and bashed the guy in the nuts with it. The guy yelped and let the girls go, they fell screaming, but each An was caught by a Kanker. The boys then put the girls down, then Larie and Jay grabbed bones for themselves as Tee said, "It looks like someone needs to be taught how to play nicely with girls, huh, boys?" His brothers nodded with dark glee in their eyes.

The Ans' hugged, grateful to be out of the mean man's clutches, their eyes wide as they watch the Kankers beat the crap out of the security guard with dinosaur bones, their shadows dancing on the wall the Ans are standing in front of. When they were finished, the boys tossed the bones back into the pile, "Um, so what do you girls wanna do now?" Tee asked. The girls stopped hugging, An and Double-N wiped tears off their cheeks. The Ans then put on thoughtful expressions, well Double-N did, Anny was stunned and An just gave them a blank look.

"Well, we actually came here to see the Egyptian exhibit." Double-N replied.

"Egyptian exhibit?" Larie asked. She nodded and pulled a pamphlet from under her hat and opened it for the brothers to see, pointing to a section with the title, 'Come see the Treasures of King Tut's Tomb!'

"Yes, they have the royal sarcophagus of one of the last Pharaohs of Egypt, Tutankhamun." Double-N explained, "They just opened the exhibit today."

"Yeah!" An said, excitedly "We came to see mummies and cool pots with guts in them!"

"They really have pots with guts inside?" Jay asked, amazed.

"Yeah, Double-N said they used to take their guts out before they wrapped the mummies!" An said, jumping up and down with excitement, "Apparently if their hearts weren't lighter then a feather, a big monster would eat it!"

"We also wanted to see the cool treasures they had in their tombs." Anny said.

"Treasures?" Tee asked, not only surprised there was more cool stuff besides dead bodies wrapped in toilet paper and guts in jars, but these girls were _excited_ about that stuff.

"Yeah, apparently they're _cursed_ treasures. You guys wanna come with us?" Anny asked.

The boys hardly had to waste any time on their response. Hmm… did they want to go with girls who they had huge crushes on to go look at an exhibit with cool stuff like mummies, pots with guts inside and cursed treasures?

"Heck yeah!" they said in unison. The six of them then dashed off to the exhibit, laughing and smiling and holding hands.

.

.

.

Later, they stood in the parking lot, the girls see a car pull into a spot, the driver honking on the horn and waving for the girls.

"That's my mom's car." Anny said. The boys looked a little sad that the girls were leaving after they had so much fun with them, but they were proud of themselves for paying them back at least a little bit for helping them and being nice to them all day. Before the girls went to the car, though, they got into a little huddle and chatted for a bit, then walked back to the boys, giving them shy smiles and giggling. The brothers looked at each other, 'what were they so happy about?'

Each An walked up to a Kanker and gave him a small kiss. Jay got one on his left cheek from An, Larie got one on his right from Double-N, and Tee got one on his forehead, after Anny made him bend down. Then they all hopped into the car, "Bye guys!" An cried, giving them a big wave and a smile.

"Tata, gentlemen!" Double-N said sweetly, giving them a big gap-toothed grin and a wave of wiggling fingers.

"If you're ever in Peach Creek, you should come over and play!" Anny said, waving and giving them a sweet smile. The car drove off, the girls popped up from the back and waved at them until the car turned and drove to wherever Peach Creek was. Each brother touched the spot he had been kissed and blushed.

"Hey guys?" Tee said.

"Yeah, Tee?" his brothers replied in unison.

"If we ever see those girls again, I say we claim 'um as ours, never let them go, and always protect them." Jay and Larie looked at their elder brother, smiling, and slapped him on the back, shouting "YEAH!"

.

.

.

(End of flashback)

.

.

.

Sam was stunned, but he could understand why the Kankers would be so fond of them after that encounter. "So you had been looking for them for about _six years_ when you finally came to the cul-de-sac that day?"

Jay nodded, proud of himself, "Yup, it was totally worth it to see our girls again." he said with a big smile. "I don't regret one second of it, because each second got me closer to An."

Sam was stunned, Larie had liked Double-N for six years before he saw her again, and had been trying to get a date for so long and after all these years and all the work he had done, he finally got one. How could he beat over ten years of devotion like that? But even so, he still liked Double-N too, even though he hadn't liked her as long, his feelings counted too, right?

Sam looked down, "Hey, Jay, if An was in love with someone else, what would you do?" Jay looked at him, concerned and angry, "WHAT?"

"It's just a hypothetical question!" Sam said, waving his arms wildly, "My sister's totally in love with you, honest! I was just wondering what you would do if she was into someone else!"

"Prove to her that I love her more then him." Jay said instantly.

"And if that didn't work?" Sam asked.

"Beat him up." Jay replied, without missing a beat.

"What if you couldn't beat him?" Sam asked.

Jay scoffed, and looked at him, as if to say, 'Bitch, _please_.'

"Just humor me." Sam said.

Jay sighed and paused a bit, thinking, after a few minutes he finally said, "I'd sabotage him." He said plainly, "I'd make him look bad so she wouldn't love him anymore." Sam perked up, then played it cool, "Oh. Okay then." He said. They got back to the trailer park, Jay told him to head home from there. Sam obeyed. He had gotten what he needed.

"Sabotage, huh?" he said, a smile curling up his face.

.

.

.

Sam walked home, chuckling as various scenarios played out in his head, each one ending with him getting Double-N and Larie defeated like a boss out of one of An's video games.

"Don't do it." A boy's voice said from behind him. Sam jumped at the sound, and quickly turned around, scared one of the Kankers had heard him. But there was no one there.

"Must have been the wind." Sam rationalized, and went back to walking home, it was weird though, the voice sounded kind of like what he thought what An might sound like as a boy.

"Don't mess up their date." A girl's voice said from behind, Sam whirled around, his heart thumping in his ears. But again, he saw no one. He began to shake, the voice had sounded like Jay's, only more high pitched and almost… almost like a _girl_'s voice. He looked around, wildly, trying to see who had spoken, alarmed. _They knew what he was going to try to do_!

"Please, Sam. Just let them be happy." The voices said in unison from farther up the path, Sam turned to see two kids. They were wearing matching jumpsuits and identical fiberglass motorcycle helmets. The jumpsuits were black with a yellow stripe in the middle. The shorter one wore pants while the taller one wore a skirt. So he knew which one was the girl and which one was the boy. They had black gloves and thick black boots.

"Who are you?" Sam demanded. The boy and girl looked at one another, the girl shook her head at the boy, then looked at Sam, "We can't tell you."

"Why not?"

"We can't say." The boy replied.

"Then why should I listen to you two?" Sam snapped, stomping forward, the two cowered a bit, Sam smiled, these two weren't so tough, he smiled and got ready to pound the two figures to dust, when he suddenly heard Jay from behind him, "Sam!" Sam turned around and saw Jay run up, An's glasses case in his hand. Sam turned around and saw the two kids had vanished. "I'm glad I caught up with you!" Jay held out An's case, "An must of dropped this earlier, cause no one in my family wears glasses."

"Yeah, that's An's, thanks." Sam said, taking it, he looked back where the kids had been, "Did you see anyone over there when you spotted me?" Sam asked.

Jay looked at him, confused, "No, why?"

"No reason." Sam said, shoving An's case in his pocket, "Thanks, I'll get them to her. Night, Jay."

"Night, Sam." Jay said with a wave, then walked back home to the trailer park. Sam shook his head and hurried home, the two children had known his _name_, his _plan_, he began to shake and picked up speed, he needed to get home, the faster the better.

.

Jay walked home, whistling and his hands in his jacket pockets. The two kids from before were hiding in the bushes, watching him. The boy turned to the girl and pointed at Jay, "Big sister, is that…?" The girl nodded, "Yes, baby brother, it is." They looked at Jay intently, shaking nervously.

.

.

.

The next morning Anny was driving Double-N and An to school in the van.

"So you have a date with Larie on Friday?" Anny asked, smirking. Double-N nodded, blushing, "I'm surprised that you're taking this so well, Anny." She said.

"Yeah well, after seeing how good Jay is with An and how good Larie's been lately, I think I can give him the benefit of a doubt." Anny told her. It was also because Double-N seemed much _happier_ lately since Larie had been coming over to her house on days when she had dance class with the little girls and An and Jay had dates. Plus, she talked about the guy enough that Anny could tell she liked him, and Double-N rarely had anyone besides her and An who would listen to her go on about random things, but Larie just soaked it up and actually understood enough to have a conversation with her about it. It was cute to watch them at lunch going back and forth about something that the rest of them didn't know or didn't care about. (Usually with Jay and An not knowing and Tee and Anny not caring.)

An gave Double-N a hug from the mattress in the back, "If you two start going out, we can double date, Double-N!" An cried happily.

"Well, that is certainly a possibility, An." Double-N said, although Anny knew neither she nor Larie would feel comfortable going on a double date with one of the most affectionate couples in town.

"You know what this means, right?" Anny asked her friends. Both of her friend looked at her, confused. Which was rare, there was hardly ever a time that both An and Double-N were confused about something, especially about something Anny had said.

"What?" they asked in unison.

"We need to go clothes shopping!" She sang, her smile growing. An cheered while Double-N stiffened, "I have plenty of clothes that could be…"

"We _know_ what's in your closet, Sock-Head." Anny cut her off, "But this is your first date, you _have_ to look good. Your ankle-length dresses and skirts and turtle-necks ain't gonna cut it." Double-N winced. Anny felt a little bad for putting down her friend's clothes, but Double-N had chosen her clothes due to their length and ability to cover as much of herself as she could so people could admire her for her brains and not her body, but now that she had finally managed to get a date, she was going to have to break free from the cocoon of her long sleeves and skirts and show the world how beautiful the girl hiding behind those clothes could be in something other then turtle-necks.

"I'll text Jamie to come, too!" An said cheerfully, pulling out her cell phone.

Then Anny and Double-N looked confused, which was normal considering it was An who was talking.

"Why would you call Jamie, An?" Double-N asked.

"Because she's good at fashion and stuff." She replied.

"So am I, Lumpy." Anny said, a bit insulted that An would bring in someone else to help pick out an outfit for Double-N's date since Anny was the fashion master in their group. It was one of the few benefits she got from growing up with her awful older sister; she had great fashion sense, a lengthy knowledge of the best hairstyles, she knew a million ways to make herself more gorgeous with make-up and a mountain of shoes. All of this was granted to Anny by the time her sister left.

"But I think she might need a new dress soon too!" An said, looking up from her phone.

"Why would you think that?" Double-N asked.

"Because Sam wanted to talk to Jay alone, and why else would he want to talk with my boyfriend alone other then asking for advise about a girl?" An asked them. Anny and Double-N were stunned, An had a _very_ good point.

"Okay then, Lumpy, why do you think he wanted to talk about Jamie? How do you know he wasn't asking about Double-N? I mean, he's had a crush on her a while ago, but he could still like her…"

Double-N shivered, "I hope not."

A while back, while looking for four-leaved clovers, An had found a rare flower. Double-N had taken possession of it after An and Anny had made it clear that, while they thought it was pretty and smelled nice, it wasn't really something they cared all that much about. Lunch, however, _was_. While they ran to Anny's house to make pizza, An and Anny had wrecked Sam and Jamie's hopscotch game, enraging Sam and causing him to yell at Double-N, who hadn't been as fast as her friends to avoid his wrath. When the two kids had noticed that she had a rare flower in her hand, they got excited and asked her about it. So, in her haste to catch up with her friends and to quell Sam's rage, she gave them the flower as a peace offering and dashed off.

However, Sam mistook her peace offering as a token of her affection and spent the rest of the day harassing her, calling her his girlfriend, following her around, and basically not giving her any space or time away from his loud, rude, and unwelcomed affections. She had thought that after the Ans had reunited Sam with Jamie that the nightmare was over. Until Anny revealed, after looking into Sam's diary, that Sam's crush on Double-N had not diminished at all, much to her dismay.

Now, Larie had been troublesome when they were younger too, but if she had to choose back then, she'd still pick Larie over Sam. While Larie was an… _aggressive_ suitor back then, and to be honest, still kind of was today, at least he would _leave_. He and his brothers would come, they'd kiss, then they'd leave. That was their usual cycle, occasionally they'd do a little something extra, but she still preferred it over Sam popping out from under her hat then wrapping his arms around her neck, demanding a piggy back ride when she could hardly stand his weight on her back without falling to the ground. She remembered the horror of him skipping around her exhausted form, collapsed on the ground, singing, 'Ring around the girlfriend!'

But it wasn't just the constant invasion of her personal space that bothered her. It was Sam himself.

Sam used to mercilessly attack the Ans, even when they did nothing to aggravate him, especially An, he'd beat the snot out of her. While the Kankers would _jump _the girls, they _never_ harmed them. Double-N would _never_ forgive him for his treatment of his sweet sister, and she knew for a fact that Anny wouldn't either. So if anyone ever asked her to choose between Larie or Sam, she would pick Larie every time.

"Well why would he ask Jay about Double-N when he knows Larie likes her? Sam wouldn't put Jay through that." An asked.

"No offense, An, but your little brother is a selfish brat. I doubt he'd have any trouble making Jay miserable like he used to with us. And I don't trust him as far as I'd love to throw his ass." Anny said plainly, "And as for Jamie, that girl is a manipulative little bitch who has gotten us beaten up for shit we haven't done plenty of times before. You really trust her to help us find an outfit for Double-N, who Sam _might still_ have a crush on, when Jamie has a huge crush on Sam?"

It was well known that, much like the Kanker's claims on the Ans, Jamie had a similar claim on Sam. And while it had never been vocalized or enforced, there wasn't a girl in Peach Creek that didn't know that Sam was Jamie's man, even if he himself didn't know it yet, and to leave him alone.

"Yeah, but it's for a date with _Larie_." An pointed out, "Not Sam." Her friends stewed that over for a second before looking back at her, impressed.

"Good point, An," Double-N praised, "Since it's for a date with Larie, she might be all for helping us."

"Yeah, but we don't need her help." Anny snapped, "I'm the fashionista in this trio."

"But Anny," An said, making Anny turn to look at her. An pointed to Double-N's clothes. Anny sighed, "Good point, Lumpy." An smiled triumphantly. "You certainly are on a roll today, An." Double-N said with a smile. "Yeah, since when have you been so smart?" Anny teased. An smiled proudly, "I watch cartoons, Anny." She explained as she began typing into her phone.

"But An, you never answered my question earlier." Double-N reminded her, An looked up, "Which question was that?"

"Why would Jamie need a new dress?" Double-N repeated. Anny smiled and looked back, "You think Sam will finally wise up about her crush?"

An shook her head, "Nope, but if we help her find a dress, he might!" Anny smiled proudly, "That's more like it." She purred as she pulled into the parking lot.

.

.

.

Jamie felt her phone buzz as she stood with Sam waiting for the school bus. She opened it and was surprised to see a message from An.

"Hie Jamy! U wanna hellp USA finnd and outfit for DobleN's date with LArie?"

Jamie looked at the message, then texted back, "What?"

Her phone buzzed again, "Lumpy wanted to know if u wanted to come to the mall with us to help us pick out an outfit for Sock-head's date with Larie." She read, judging that she could read it without needing a dictionary and the nicknames used, she guessed that Anny was the one who typed for An. She absorbed the information, Double-N was going on a date with Larie? A smile grew on her face as she realized that there was now nothing between her and Sam… well except for Sam's inability to take a freaking hint. It was ironic, he'd often complain how stupid his sister was, yet An was one of the first people to realize that Jamie had a crush on him. She sighed, An may not be really bright, but she could be very insightful at times, and while Sam was no dummy, he had to be the most oblivious person she'd ever known. She quickly typed back, "What time can you pick me up?" she replied.

"We can pick u up at home at about 4, An has video game club today, so we're going to wait at school until she's done, then we'll scoop u up before going 2 the mall."

"Can't wait! " Jamie replied. She looked over at Sam, who looked grumpy, but if it was because his crush was going on a date with a Kanker over him, or because it was early and a school day, she had no idea.

"Hey, Sam, what are you doing after school?" she asked, trying hard to hide her excitement.

"Homework." He grumbled, "You?"

"I'm going to the mall to go _shopping_!" she cried happily.

"Whoop-tee-doo." He said grumpily.

.

.

.

At lunch, the Ans and Kankers sat down at their table. It used to be where the Kankers usually sat by themselves, but after the dance contest, the girls had started sitting there with them, much to their glee. Anny and Tee were talking about the little girls' dance recital and any preparations that would need to be done on Thursday. Double-N and Larie were nervously making conversation about whatever project they were working on together, Larie wanted to know if they were still testing something Thursday and then asked if picking her up for the date at six was good. Double-N said yes to both questions, her face pink. An asked Jay what Sam had wanted to talk about last night, the others stopped chatting and looked at Jay, intrigued. Jay bit his lip, he didn't want to talk about how Sam had admitted to him that he used to beat An up, so he said, "Uh, he wanted to know about girls." He said vaguely. An bounced up and down, "I knew it!" she cried, "Did he say who?"

"No, he didn't say." Jay said. Anny nudged Double-N, "hopefully it's not you, Sock-head." She snickered. The Kankers looked confused by her statement.

"It's _not_ funny Anny." Double-N huffed, putting her arms down on the table, "I'd love to see you try to deal with Sam's constant harassment for a whole day." Larie looked concerned and put his arm around her, "What do you mean?" he asked her.

"Yeah, what are you talking about, Anny?" Tee asked.

"An's brother Sam had a huge crush on Double-N when we were kids. It _sucked_, he followed her around for a whole day, kept calling her his girlfriend and wrecking everything we tried to do that day. It was a nightmare." Anny explained, "We thought it was over after we reunited him with his best friend," she smirked at Double-N, "Until we read Sam's diary…"

"_You_ read Sam's diary." Double-N corrected, "An and I wanted nothing to do with it." An nodded in agreement, "He was really mad." Jay clenched his fists under the table, which meant Sam beat the Ans up. The Ans didn't notice him clenching his fists, but Tee did, Larie was fuming as Anny went on to talk about what she had found in Sam's diary.

"How did that passage go again?" Anny said, a mischievous glint in her eye.

Double-N looked up at her, pleading, "Anny, please don't…"

"Dear Diary," Anny recited, "Double-N is so cute! Last night I dreamed that I gave her a horsey!" she then cracked up a bit, An and Tee did too. Double-N groaned and let her head fall into her arms. Larie looked as if he was going to explode, some little brat made a move on his girl? He was ready to wipe that little shit off the face of the Earth.

Jay suddenly felt sick, remembering what Sam had asked him last night, 'If An was in love with someone else, what would you do?' after Sam threw out his first two suggestions, he had told Sam that he'd sabotage the other guy's chance at An. He looked at Larie and Double-N, feeling horrible. Sam was going to sabotage their date and it was all his fault! Anny and Tee seemed to pick up on Jay's duress, but An hadn't.

"It was a _long_ time ago, Anny, I _highly doubt_ that he still has a crush on me." Double-N said firmly, raising her head and slipping her hands onto her lap, "And even if he does, it doesn't matter." She slipped her hand into Larie's under the table, he could feel himself calm down a bit, but not much. "Because I like someone else." She said, blushing. Larie felt his whole face burn as he shoved Sam into a dark corner in his mind to make room for the fact that SHE WAS TALKING ABOUT HIM!

A huge smile spread across his face and he gently squeezed her hand, "Hot damn." He said.

"And besides, Jamie has a huge crush on Sam." An reported, "We're taking her out shopping, so we can help her get Sam, and you don't have to worry about him." An left out the real reason mainly because she and Anny had agreed to keep Double-N's closet of turtle-necks, long sleeves and long skirts a secret, they didn't want anyone to think that Double-N wasn't fashionable or anything.

An got up to go to the bathroom and Double-N and Larie went back into the lunch line to get something to drink. Anny and Tee turned to Jay as soon as the others had left the table, "What's wrong?" they asked in unison, Jay looked up at them, troubled, "Last night Sam asked me what I would do if An was in love with someone else, I told him at first that I'd prove that I loved her more, but he didn't like that answer, so then I told him that I'd beat up the other guy, but he didn't like that answer either so…" he looked at them, ashamed, "I told him I'd sabotage the other guy and make him look bad. And he _seemed really happy with that answer_." Tee and Anny looked at him, shocked, "I didn't know he liked Double-N, though! I had no idea he was asking me for advise on what to do to get her to like him!" Jay cried, completely distraught, he then looked angry, "Just like I didn't know he used to beat you Ans up whenever he got mad, especially An."

"He told you that?" Anny said, shocked.

"Yeah, why didn't you or Double-N tell us that?" Jay asked, hurt and upset that he and his brothers had been left in the dark about that.

"Because An wouldn't let us!" Anny said plainly, "The kid was an abusive jackass, but An loves her bitchy little brother, don't ask us why, but she does. Probably because he's the only one in her family who realized she was fucking there, her parents certainly didn't give much of a shit about her until Mondo-A-Go-Go! That's one of the many reasons Double-N would _never ever _even_** consider**_ going out with that jerk-off. You guys may have done some mean shit to us over the years, but you _never_ hurt us and you'd _**definitely**__ never_ beat the crap out of us like he did. And although you three may fight a lot, you'd never hurt each other like he hurt An just because you were mad and couldn't deal with it like a fucking civilized human being." She then got angry, "And if that little shithead thinks he's going to ruin their chances of being happy, that little fuck face has got another thing coming."

"But Anny, we have the little girls' recital on Saturday, remember? We're doing the the dress rehearsals on Friday." Tee reminded her. Anny groaned, he was right, she couldn't let those little girls down, but she didn't want to let Sam shit all over Double-N and Larie's date.

"Me and An could watch out for them." Jay suggested.

"Yeah, because she'd really believe that her 'baby brother' would be heartless enough to ruin their date." Anny said, "And even if she was there when you stopped him, what would stop Sam from hurting her again?"

"Me." Jay said, "He knows I'll kill him if he hurts An."

"As much as I'd love to watch you rip that little piece of shit apart, it won't make An feel any better nor will it keep him from ruining Double-N's and Larie's date." Anny said.

"I have an idea, Anny." An said, they all jumped and looked at An. Jay looked upset, "An, I…" she stopped him with a hand, "I know." She said, giving him a warm smile, happy knowing that her boyfriend would protect her just in case Sam tried to hurt her again, "I think I might know who can stop Sam from ruining the date…"

"An, did you wash your hands after you were done in the bathroom?" The four of them jumped to see Larie slurping on a fountain soda and Double-N holding a bottle of iced tea, standing behind them. An suddenly looked nervous, "Maybe…" she said, looking from side to side and beginning to sweat.

Double-N narrowed her eyes, "An…" she warned, putting her iced tea onto the table and pulling out a small container of hand sanitizer spray, "Do I need to use this?" she asked, holding it up to An.

An was sweating as she leapt up from the table and started to run away, "RUN AWAY!" she cried.

"YOU GET BACK HERE, MISSY!" Double-N ordered, chasing her with the hand sanitizer, "YOUR HANDS WILL BE CLEAN WHETHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT!"

"NOO!" An cried as she started running around a lunch table. "SOAP IS BAD FOR AN!"

"THIS IS HAND SANITIZER, AN!" Double-N corrected as she continued to chase An around the cafeteria.

"HAND SANITIZER IS BAD FOR AN!" An altered, hiding behind a confused Karen, who was holding a lunch tray with a sandwich, chips and a soda, An grabbing her bare arm as she hid.

"THANK YOU! NOW HOLD STILL! DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY GERMS YOU BROUGHT BACK FROM THE BATHROOM BECAUSE YOU DIDN'T WASH YOUR HANDS?" Karen looks disgusted and yanks her arm from An's hands, snatches Double-N's spray, sprays her arm thoroughly, then shoves it back into Double-N's hands and stomps away grumbling about An's less-then-perfect personal hygiene. An and Double-N look at each other for a second, processing what just happened. Only for An to then cry, "NOO!" as she ran for the door out of the cafeteria and into the rest of the school.

"ANNY!" Double-N cried. Anny sighed and got up, "Yeah, yeah, I got it." she said, annoyed. She stood in front of the door, blocking An's exit. An began looking back and forth for another way out as Double-N walked besides Anny, out of breath. Anny slid closer to Double-N and hid the hand-sanitizer behind their backs, "Okay An, you win. See? The hand sanitizer is all gone now." Anny lied.

"Actually, you just shoved it behind my…" Anny covered Double-N's mouth before she could finish. An squinted at her friends, once she saw that the hand-sanitizer was indeed gone, she smiled. Only for Anny to pounce on her, "USE THE FREAKING SPRAY!" She cried as An struggled against her grip, "USE IT!" Double-N tried to get a good shot, but An kept flinging Anny in the way.

The Kanker brothers just hung out by their table and watched the struggle. Tee munched on his sandwich while watching Anny swinging in the air, Jay was eating potato chips while he watched his girlfriend, with Anny clinging to her waist, run away from Double-N and her spray, and Larie slurped his soda, a pensive look on his face. "Do you guys know what would make this more interesting to watch?" Larie finally asked his brothers.

"What?" they asked in unison.

"If they were naked." He said plainly with a straight face, taking a sip of his soda. Jay turned red and his eyes widened at the thought. Tee blushed for a minute, losing himself in the idea, then quickly shook it off and looked at him, disgusted, "Were you dropped on your head?" he asked.

"Nope, but when we were little, I'd wake up in the middle of the night and not be able to fall back asleep, so I'd watch whatever was on TV." He said, then took another sip of his soda. "So?" Tee asked.

"The only thing on TV was porn." He said plainly, taking another slurp of soda. Tee thought about it for a minute, then said, "That actually explains a lot." Tee said. Jay nodded.

An managed to slip from Anny's grip and stood on top of a table, "HA!" she shouted.

"Man, she's good." Anny said, panting. Double-N carefully snuck behind An and sprayed her hands. An cried out, clutching her hands, as if in pain. Double-N looked at her, concerned, "An! Are you alright?" An looked at her, pouting, "No!" she shoved _another_ lucky cheese chunk near Double-N's face, "You got Sheldon the 5th!" Double-N staggered back, "GOOD LORD!" she cried, cringing from the smell and covering her face with her hands, "Stinky, stinky, stinky!" she chanted as she backed away from her friend.

"You have _another_ one of those things?" Anny asked, exasperated.

"Yeah." An said, as if it was obvious that she would have another lucky cheese chunk, then turned to Double-N, "Say you're sorry." She said, holding the chunk to Double-N who cowered at the foul stench that oozed off of it.

"I will not apologize to inanimate object, An!" Double-N said, only for An to begin to chase her with Sheldon the 5th in her hand, "KISS AND MAKE UP, DOUBLE-N!"

"THAT'S DISGUSTING, AN!" Double-N cried as she ran away, "I WILL DO NO SUCH THING!"

"FOR CRYING OUT LOUD! WILL YOU TWO KNOCK IT OFF?" Anny shouted, chasing her friends around the cafeteria, only for her to end up on the other side with Double-N and run away from the stinky cheese in An's hand. "AN, GET RID OF THAT STUPID CHEESE CHUNK!" Anny shouted.

"NO!" An replied, chasing her friends with a determined look on her face, although it was pretty obvious that she forgot _why_ she was chasing her friends with Sheldon the 5th, but she wasn't going to let up either.

Karen walked up to the Kankers while staring at the Ans running around the cafeteria like idiots, "What the fuck do you see in those three?" she asked them.

"The future mothers of our children." The brothers said in unison, small smiles on their faces as they watched their Ans.

"Your children are going to be weirdos." Karen said watching An chase her friends with moldy cheese. The Kankers scowled at her, but said nothing in response, they simply put their lunches down on the table and walked towards their girls. Jay stood in the girl's path as An chased her friends in between two tables.

Anny and Double-N saw Jay was standing right in their path, they skidded on their heels, trying to stop their momentum so they wouldn't crash into him, only to be pulled out of An's path by Tee and Larie onto the table on either side and finding themselves in their arms, sitting on the tables. An looked both ways, realizing her friends had been moved, she then looked ahead and realized that she was about to crash into her boyfriend, An pulled up onto her heels to slow herself to a stop, only to be grabbed by Jay, spun around and dipped into a kiss. An melted in Jay's arms, letting go of Sheldon the 5th and sending him flying into Karen's face with a SPLAT! Anny pointed and laughed, "HEY KAREN, I THINK SHELDON #5 LIKES YOU!"

Everyone in the cafeteria but An and Jay (who were a little busy at the moment) laughed at Karen's stinky cheese facial. Karen was outraged, she scraped Sheldon's cheesy remains off her face then began rolling it into a stinky, cheese ball and glared at the Ans and Kankers, trying to decide which one to hit.

An and Jay were making out, which was already gross so it didn't need the rotten cheese to make it worse. Larie was holding Double-N close as she caught her breath, "Thank you… Larie. I don't… think… I would… have lasted… much longer…" She managed, sounding truly grateful. Knowing Double-N, she'd have a fucking panic attack if the cheese barely _passed _her, and then Karen would have the remaining Ans and all three Kankers pissed at her and ready to crush her, and since Double-N was the only one of those six with _no_ physical strength what-so-ever, it would guarantee that whatever beating Karen would get would hurt like a mother. Finally, she looked at Anny and Tee, who were laughing so hard they were crying, they were the leaders of those two trios, so they were the best targets, but which one? Knowing Anny, she'd find some way to dodge the cheese, the girl may have become a bigger target, but she was just as agile as she was back when she was the shrimp of the cul-de-sac. Tee, however, had his hair over his beautiful blue eyes, so it would be difficult to see the cheese coming at him until it was too late. That or Anny would take the hit for him, devastating all of them. Karen felt a smile curl up her lip, yeah, Tee was the perfect target. Karen threw it at him, feeling triumph as the smelly dairy ball flew off her fingertips. Unfortunately, Anny saw her throw it at Tee and quickly grabbed him and pulled him out of the way of the nasty cheese ball, leaving Karen to watch in horror as it smashed into Nate's face as he was coming out of the lunch line with his tray. "Karen?" he managed before passing out from the smell.

"HA!" Anny shouted, a blushing Tee in her hands, "NICE SHOT, KAREN!" she said. Karen scrambled over to Nate, then lifted him over her head and ran him to the nurses office, the smell off the two of them making people vomit as they passed.

The Ans and Kankers returned to their table, the drama now over, and went back to their lunches. An pulled out her phone and texted Jay, Anny and Tee who she knew who could watch out for Double-N and Larie on Friday. The three of them smiled and nodded, "Jeez, An, it looks like those glasses are actually making you a little smarter." Anny complimented.

Double-N looked at her friends, confused, "What are you talking about, Anny?"

"An just kicked my ass in Words with Friends with Q-I." Anny lied.

"Oh, very clever! And it's pronounced as 'Chi', Anny." Double-N said.

"Like I care." Anny muttered.

Double-N then looked at An, "Well I'm very proud of you An, you've just been full of insightful answers today!"

An smiled broadly, "I'm in my happy place, Double-N!" she said, then hugged Jay tightly, making him smile widely now that he was in _his_ happy place. (Author: FYI, Jay's happy place is in An's arms)

.

.

.

Jamie waited outside her house for the Ans, excited about going to the mall with them. She was happy that Double-N was going on a date with Larie, but not because she actually cared that much about their happiness, or that she thought they'd make a cute couple or anything, but for _her _own happiness.

With Double-N dating Larie, Sam was going to be crushed. And who would be there for him when he needed her most? Jamie would. And after what would hopefully be a short grieving period, he'd realize he belonged with her the whole time and ask her out.

She stood there, happily dreaming about their future together; going on fun romantic dates, Sam bending down on one knee with a ring in his hand, Jamie and Sam holding hands at the alter saying 'I do', buying their first house, their first child, their second child, their third child, etc. etc. etc.

She sighed, yes, everything would be as it should be.

The An's familiar van pulled up to the curb in front of Jamie's house, An opened the back seat and said, "Hi Jamie!" and gave her a smile. Jamie smiled back, "Thank you for inviting me to come along!" she said as she climbed onto the mattress in the back with An's help. Double-N smiled from the front seat, "It's our pleasure, Jamie."

"Yeah, I need all the help I can get with this one." Anny joked from the passenger's side seat, "We'll need clothes, shoes, make-up, the works."

Jamie felt herself perk up, even if she was mainly doing this to ensure her future with Sam, she had to admit, she was also excited to be going to the mall to do girly things like this. She didn't get to do very much of that stuff when she went with Sam, mainly because he'd get bored out of his mind after a while and start flipping through the alarmingly high number of photos of Double-N he had on his phone, sighing happily.

She hardly had time to browse through shoes or make-up or clothes, she normally could only grab whatever she knew she'd actually use or desperately needed before Sam would start drooling over pictures of the girl sitting in the drivers seat.

Or she could go with her mom, which was lame and embarrassing.

The other great thing about this was that the Ans _actually wanted_ Jamie to use her fashion knowledge and would care about what she would have to say, who knows, maybe Jamie could find some things for herself while she was here.

An motioned for Jamie to come closer to the back of the van, Jamie was a bit confused, but it was An, so whatever it was, it probably wasn't that bad.

"Hey Jamie," An whispered, "We didn't just ask you to come to help with Double-N's outfit. We want to help you get Sam." Jamie couldn't believe it, not only was An okay with the idea of Sam and her being a couple, but she and her friends were actually wanted to _help_ her get Sam. Jamie's eyes watered, she was so happy. She hugged An, which was something she'd _never_ do normally, she may not be a clean-freak like Double-N, but Jamie knew that An wasn't exactly the cleanest person on the planet. "Thank you!" she said, "I won't let you all down! I promise!"

An was a bit uncomfortable, it had gone from 'We're going to help you' to 'here, take my beloved baby brother for however long you both shall live.' She looked at Anny, who gave her a nervous smile and a thumbs up. Nether really made her feel better, but Double-N's romantic future was at stake, that and, well, she knew no one was more loyal to her baby brother (outside their family) then Jamie and she knew that Jamie would take good care of him, but she was a little scary at times. She took a deep breath, feeling a little sick, "We want you to get Sam, but Sam apparently is planning to sabotage Double-N's and Larie's date on Friday, so he can try to get Double-N. So we want you and Sam to go on a date this Friday too."

Jamie frowned at bit at that news and let it sink in. Sabotaging Double-N and Larie's date just to get Double-N to not like Larie anymore… It seemed like a solid plan and sounded like something that Sam would try to do to get his sister's brainy friend. But the Ans had come up with a great counter plan that would benefit everyone (well, everyone but Sam, but honestly sabotaging someone else's date is a douche move, so his feelings about how it would turn out weren't really all that important) and as much as Jamie had been _dreaming_ of going on a date with Sam, she had to ask…

"How do you know this?"

"Sam asked Jay what he would do if I was in love with someone else." An replied, a little hurt and angry that her brother used her boyfriend's love for her to try to find a way for him to weasel into Double-N's heart, even though it was obvious to _everyone_ that Double-N _wasn't _interested in Sam, "He didn't like Jay's first answers, then when Jay said he would sabotage the other guy's chances with me, he got really excited. He didn't know that Sam would try to do that to Larie and Double-N until he learned Sam had a crush on her." Jamie nodded, so she now knew that Jay was in on this, but now she wasn't so sure that Larie and Double-N were aware of what Sam was planning to do.

"Do they know?" she asked An, An shook her head, "Larie would kill him." She said simply. Jamie nodded again, she figured as much. She hesitated, then asked "So why me?"

An considered this for a minute, then said, "Because you've always been together, I can't really see him with anyone else but you." Jamie sat there, stunned, the answer was so simple, yet so difficult for Sam to grasp. She didn't say another word for the rest of the ride to the mall, wondering which of the two siblings was truly the idiot.

.

.

.

Double-N had been dragged through seven stores and they had found _nothing_ for her date. But the others had found plenty of new clothes, accessories, shoes, make-up, jewelry, and Jamie even bought a new purse. Even though she was getting frustrated that she hadn't found anything yet, she was still having fun with the other girls as they explored each store in the mall. After a while, they stopped and grabbed dinner from the food court.

"I'm sorry we still haven't found anything for you, Double-N." Jamie said, looking guilty. An and Anny also seemed remorseful that they hadn't found anything for her yet either, they had been having fun and finding things for themselves and almost completely forgot the reason they were even there in the first place.

"It's quite alright, if we can't find anything, perhaps we can modify something I already own." Double-N said cheerfully, but inside she was starting to feel nervous, Anny had been right, she wanted to look amazing on this date, but she was starting to lose hope for that, and then she felt more unsure of what to do for this date, her confidence was starting to slip away. She lost her appetite and pushed her half-eaten meal aside, then glanced around the small shops near the food court until a display caught her eye. She got up and rushed over to the store and stared at the display, a small grin on her face, the other girls, startled by her sudden escape from the table, got up to see what had caused her to leave. When they walked over to her, Double-N looked back at them, "Well, what do you think?" she asked them indicating what had caught her eye. The girls' faces broke out in big smiles.

"It's pretty, Double-N!" An said, excited that they had finally found something for her.

"It's so stylish! It's perfect for your date!" Jamie squealed.

"Nice choice, Sock-head." Anny said, impressed and proud of her friend's find, "But you realize you need to try it on, then we have to get everything else you need, right?"

"Of course." Double-N said, "But Anny, don't you think the one next to it would be good for Jamie?" she asked. An and Jamie looked at the display next to it and hugged, squealing. Anny looked at the other display, then smiled, "I'm rubbing off on you, Double-N." she sang.

"It would seem so, Anny." Double-N said as they entered the shop.

.

.

.

After a long day of shopping and finally getting everything Double-N needed for her date, the girls drove back to the cul-de-sac, feeling satisfied with their purchases. Double-N parked the van in her driveway and all the girls gathered their things and exited into the dusk and walked home, waving and laughing.

.

.

.

Sam had been sitting on his front porch, bored.

Jamie had gone shopping at the mall and since he just _had _to tell Jay what he used to do to An last night, he knew he wouldn't want to come over and hang out with him, and he knew he probably wasn't welcome over at their place to hang out, either. Which sucks 'cause then not only could he not hang out with Jay, who he looked up to, but he couldn't get any info on Larie's date, so he could wreck it.

Sam bit his lip, how was he supposed to sabotage Larie's date with Double-N when he had no information to go on? He then saw An and Jamie coming towards the house, giggling and holding armfuls of bags.

Jamie had been going shopping with An and her friends? His eyes widened and he perked up, _Jamie was his way in_.

"Uh, hey guys, what's up?" he asked, trying to play it cool.

"We just went shopping!" An said cheerfully.

"Yeah! Double-N found the perfect outfit for her date on Friday!" Jamie said.

"Double-N has a date?" Sam asked, as if he _didn't_ already know that.

"Yeah, with Larie!" An said, "She's really excited about it! She even picked something out for Jamie!" Sam was caught off guard, why would Double-N pick something out for Jamie? Did Jamie have a date too? He was suddenly hit with a feeling of unease and, to his surprise, a little bit of jealousy and anger.

"Why did Double-N pick something out for you?" He asked Jamie. She smiled, "Well, you'll just have to wait and see on Friday, now won't you?" she said, looking pleased with herself. Sam felt his stomach sink, Jamie and him _always _hung out on Friday… but wasn't he going to bail on it so he could follow Double-N and Larie and wreck their date? So if he was going to skip it, why was he upset and a little angry to hear that Jamie had plans and was going to miss it as well?

An hopped up the front steps and walked inside, "I'm gonna call Jay!" she informed them cheerfully, then skipped happily as she disappeared into the house.

"Uh, why, what's happening on Friday?" he asked, feeling dizzy and disoriented.

"Well, uh…" Jamie turned pink, "I was wondering if you want to try something different this week…" Sam looked at her, confused. "I mean," she went on to explain, "we both have seen all our movies and even a bunch of An's, I figured we should try something different… So…" She looked at him, her face pink, a shy smile on her face, "you wanna go out to dinner or something?" she asked. His eyes widened in surprise, was… was Jamie asking him out?

"You mean like a date?" he asked, completely taken off guard and with a little disbelief in his voice. Jamie was his best friend in the whole wide world, he had never looked at her as anything other then that… did Jamie _like_ _like_ him? His mind began to reel, how was that even possible? They had been best friends for years, when could that could have happened, especially without him noticing? (Author face-palms with both hands at his stupidity)

"Well, uh…" Jamie suddenly looked mortified and upset, but she tried to come off as nonchalant, "I just meant… uh…" she suddenly looked as if she was going to start crying. Sam suddenly felt awful, "Uh, I mean," he shifted through his brain, trying to find some way to keep her from crying, some where in there, he found words that had popped up into his brain that he immediately blurted without a second thought. "What time should I pick you up?"

As soon as the words left his mouth he clamped it shut, stunned that he just said that. Jamie was his _best friend_, he couldn't go out with _her_. It was _weird_. But he hated it when she cried. She looked up at him, her eyes bright with hope and a warm relieved smile on her face, "Really?"

He wanted to say no, but looking at how happy she was, he couldn't say it, so instead, he said, in a squeaky voice, "Uh, yeah, why not? It'll be fun." He then gave her a wide reassuring smile, even though on the inside he was kicking himself and screaming "YOU FUCKING DUMBASS!" Jamie suddenly gave him a hug, "Thank you, Sam!" she squealed. Sam suddenly smelled the scent of Jasmine blossoms coming from his friend. Was she wearing perfume? Sam had no idea, but he never smelled it on her before whenever they hugged. He kind of liked it… Jamie let go, smiling sweetly at him, "Pick me up at seven, we'll go to this new place in town, it's called Selina's, dress nicely." She said, then scooped up her stuff and skipped happily home.

Sam felt as if he had been thrown onto a roller coaster, his stomach was twisted and his head spinning, what just happened? He could still smell Jasmine blossoms even though Jamie was gone. He then tried to remember if his friend wore perfume and if she did, when did she start? He shook his head, he didn't have time to wonder about Jamie and her Jasmine scent, how was he going to wreck Double-N's date and win her heart if he was on a date himself?

Suddenly it hit him, what better way to go un-noticed while Larie and Double-N were on their date then _to have one himself_? It was perfect! He could also use Jamie to make Double-N jealous and show her how much better of a boyfriend he'd make then Larie. He smiled, he was a genius. He walked up to the door, feeling proud of himself, he opened the door, only to find his sister giving him a proud smile that took up most of her face, curving until it was close to being a full circle on her face.

"You little dickens…" she said, her voice a mix of pride and laughter.

"What?" he asked her, getting kind of creeped out by the way she was looking at him.

"I heard." She said, pointing to Jamie's house, "You're going on a date with Jamie!" she said, her eyes lit up with glee. She then pulled him into a big hug, "I KNEW YOU TWO'D MAKE A CUTE COUPLE!" she cried.

"What are you talking about, An?" he asked, embarrassed and a little annoyed as he slipped out of the hug.

"You and Jamie." An said, "She's liked you for a long time."

"Well, _yeah_ she likes me, An, she's my best friend." Sam snapped.

An gave him a knowing smile, which on his sister, was something he was _not_ used to seeing, "Not that kind of like, silly, the _other_ kind." Sam looked at her, annoyed, "She just wants to go out to dinner instead of watching a movie this Friday, it's no big deal." An rose her eyebrows at him, "Oh? Then why are you blushing?" she asked, pointing to his face. Sam scowled at his sister, "No I'm not!" he cried. She just kept smiling and nodding, "Yes you are!" she teased. Sam felt anger rush through his body, he wanted to sock his sister in the mouth just to shut her up, but he stopped himself.

The whole reason he didn't hang out with Jay and was out on the porch when An and Jamie came home and for Jamie to ask him out is because he hurt his stupid annoying older sister. How would hurting her help his situation? If anything, it would just make it worse, not only would his dream girl be dating a Kanker, he'd be killed by the one he _actually_ got along with. Or he _used_ to get along with.

He stood there, trying to take deep, calming breaths, his whole body shaking with rage, "You don't know what you're talking about, stupid!" he finally cried, then ran upstairs to his room and slammed the door behind him.

He paced around his room, "An doesn't know what she's talking about." Sam growled, "I'm just going to dinner with her, that's all, it's not like I've never eaten with her before…" He stopped, then looked at his reflection in his mirror, An was _right_, his face _was_ red.

He brushed it off. Of course his face would be red, he was angry, he always turned red when he was mad. He scowled into his mirror, 'It's because I'm mad… right?'

The faint smell of Jasmine still wafted up into his nose, 'where is that coming from?" he asked himself. He looked around, confused and a little frustrated and annoyed, trying to find the smell. The smell began to get to him, so he pulled his shirt up to block the scent, only for him to be overwhelmed by it. He quickly yanked his head out of his shirt, shocked, it was _him_. He looked at his shirt, the smell was coming from where Jamie had hugged him. He took off his shirt and threw it at his hamper, a little unsettled how much of her perfume had been absorbed into his shirt by such a short hug. He looked at his reflection, his face was fading back to normal. Sam gave his reflection a puzzled look, then looked back at his shirt. He picked it up as if it was something from An's room, with two fingers and as far away from him as possible. He walked to the mirror, then sniffed the shirt, the smell of Jasmine curling through his nose, his heart picked up and his chest felt tight. He looked at his face, it was red again, and to his surprise, he had a small smile on his face. He quickly threw the shirt back into the hamper, startled. His heart continued to race, but his chest slowly returned to normal. His smile was replaced with a look of fear and confusion.

"What's happening to me?" he asked out loud.

.

.

.

Anny was placing her new clothes into her closet when she got a text from An, "Sam haz a dat with Jame on Frydai." Anny had spend years reading An's handwriting and texts, so it took her less then two seconds to learn that Sam had a date with Jamie on Friday.

"What are the details, An?" she texted back, a minute or two later, her phone buzzed again, "hess frekng out Anny." She replied, "wnt to chec on him, smelng sirt, trou it awy then pic it up agan, starng at himslf. Hess makng funy faces in the miror."

Anny rolled her eyes, "I meant about Sam's DATE, Lumpy. I don't wanna know what your brother does in his spare time." She sent.

A minute later, An had replied with: "pik up at 7, nw plac. Selina's?" Anny thought about it for a second, she had heard about that place. Apparently it was this new place, it was a restaurant where you buy sample plates of food from various cultures and countries. She pressed herself to remember where she had heard that…

She groaned. She had heard about it from Double-N at lunch last week, she had been really excited about it and wanted to go check it out. No doubt Larie would probably take her there, she strained herself to remember what time they had agreed on.

After a minute or two, she remembered that Larie and Double-N agreed that he'd pick her up at six. That left them an hour, maybe? Less with travel time and however long it would take to get a table…

"Hang on, Lumpy, we might have a problem. I've got to check with the guys." She typed, then sent the message to An. She then went to text Tee, realizing that this was the first time she'd ever tried to text him, like _ever_. Actually, this was the first time she had _ever _tried contacting him. While he was teaching her how to dance, he had given her his number, in case something happened and she'd be late or something. She had put it into her phone, but had never used it. She stared at his name in her phone, unsure why she was acting so weird about this, she was just going to check if Larie was going to take Double-N to this Selina's place so they could see if the two pairs would meet at any point. Yet, she was nervous to enter the contact page under Tee's highlighted name.

Why? It wasn't like she was asking about _her _date or _his_… or both?

She stopped, where the fuck had _that_ come from? She felt her hands begin to sweat, what was going on with her?

That's when her phone came to life in her hands, playing the ringtone that all three Ans had set for one another, "Hey, Soul Sister" by Train. Anny threw it into the air, then quickly grabbed it, panicked, then answered it.

"Hello?" Anny asked.

"Hello?" An asked, "Helloo?"

"An." Anny said.

"Hi Anny!" An cried into the phone, knowing An, she was probably waving at Anny even though she wasn't really there. Anny sighed, but couldn't help but smile. An had been answering the phone the same way she did when they were five.

"Hey, Lumpy, what's up?" There was a pause, Anny shook her head, knowing An, she was probably looking at the ceiling, literally checking to see what was above her. She heard An say, "Hey, look a slice of pizza!"

"So you're in your room?" Anny guessed, since that was the only place that such a strange and gross thing could be stuck on the ceiling.

"How did you know that?" An asked, amazed and with her mouth full, despite all the years of Double-N scolding her not to do that.

"Where else would you be where you would find pizza on the ceiling?" Anny asked, then wished she hadn't, because she heard An going, 'hmmmm…' over the line.

"Never mind, forget I asked." Anny said quickly.

"Forgot you asked what?" An asked.

"Nothing, anyway, what's going on, why did you call?"

"Sam's acting weird, Anny." She said, concerned.

"Why are you telling me, An?" Anny asked, walking over to her bed and flopping down onto it, "I don't care about that little jerk."

"Because you have a big sister." An said.

"So? I hate her too." Anny huffed.

"No you don't." An said. Anny pouted, An was on a fucking roll on this whole 'knowing the right answer thing.' But that didn't mean Anny was going to admit that.

"Yeah I do." Anny lied, "My sister is a huge bitch who used to beat the shit out of me for fun. Of course I hate her."

"No you don't."

"Oh, really? Then tell me, An, how can I not hate someone who hurt me physically, psychologically and a bunch of other ways?" Anny asked, hoping An would be silent on the other end.

"You can't hate family." An said plainly. Anny bit her lip, then sighed, "You need to stop with this whole, 'being right' thing, An, it's starting to rub me the wrong way." She told her.

"I'll try, Anny."

"So what does me having a big sister have to do with your little shit head brother?"

"I'm worried about him, Anny."

"Still not seeing how the two relate, An. My sister doesn't give two shits about me."

"But you care about her."

Anny winced, then said, "My sister's a big girl, she can take care of herself…" then added, "and can we get off my sister now?"

"Okay Anny." An was quiet for a minute, "I think he's trying to figure out his feelings."

"Feelings for who?"

"I don't know. I don't think he does either…" An stopped for a minute and then her voice went soft, "Hey Anny? Do you think Double-N ever gets lonely?"

Anny switched her phone to her other ear, concerned with the swift subject change, "What do you mean, An? She's got us. And she's got a date with Larie…"

"I mean without a brother or sister." An said.

"Like I said, Lumpy, Sock head's got us." Anny replied with a smile, glad that she was the one with the right answer again, "We're the sisters we always wanted and the only ones we really need." Anny couldn't see An, but she could tell that she was smiling too.

"And as for Sam, let him sweat it out, everyone has to figure out what they want, if he beats himself up a bit, he beats himself up. I wouldn't worry about it, neither should you. It's about time he grows up and stops acting like a spoiled brat."

"But Anny…"

"You can't protect him forever, An, eventually he'll need to grow a pair and stop being a whiny little bitch. This is the first step," she looked at her phone, "everyone needs to sort out their feelings about someone at some point. I know it was easy for you, but for the rest of us, it takes time, let him work out on his own. We'll only interfere if he tries messing with our sister's date."

"Okay Anny."

"I'll let you know if we'll need Jamie to keep Sam in check. I'm gonna ask Tee what he knows about Larie's plans for his date Double-N. So I'm gonna go."

"Hey Anny."

"Yeah?"

"We're lucky to have such good sisters." An said.

Anny smiled, "the luckiest." She agreed, then said, "Talk to you later, Lumpy."

"Bye Anny." Anny looked as An's contact photo, which was a photo of the three of them hugging with An in the middle making a funny face with her tongue lolling out of her mouth. They really were lucky to have each other, but as Anny smiled at the picture, it faded back into Tee's contact page. Anny sighed, her own words coming back to bite her in the ass. Her finger hovered over the 'message' button, she was still kind of nervous about asking Tee, but she had told An she would ask him and she wasn't going to let either of her sisters down. But she couldn't move her finger to press the message button. Finally she'd had it with her stupid insecurities, Double-N had been able to overcome her own to agree to this date and Anny'd be damned if she let Double-N's effort go to waste.

"Oh, screw the stupid text." she muttered and hit the call button and put the phone to her ear, her stomach twisting as the phone rang. "Come on, come on, pick up." She muttered under her breath.

.

.

.

Tee had been watching TV with his brothers when his cell rang, he pulled it out of his pocket and nearly dropped it onto the floor with a gasp. His brothers looked at him, as if to say, 'What the fuck, Drama Queen?'

"What the fuck, Drama Queen?" Larie asked.

"It's Anny." He said, stunned.

"Really?" Jay asked, excited. Tee nodded, wondering for a second if he was dreaming.

"Well, answer it, dipshit!" Larie said with a laugh, Tee flipped him off and fumbled with his phone until he got it open, then he pressed the call button and answered it, "Anny?" he asked.

"What the fuck took you so long to answer?" she asked, "I was about to hang up on your stupid ass!" His brothers chuckled, Tee flipped them off and headed upstairs to their room, closing the door behind him.

"Sorry, I was with my brothers." He said, it wasn't a _total_ lie, he _had_ been with his brothers, it's just that they _weren't_ what made him take so long to answer.

"Whatever, An just told me that Sam and Jamie are going on a date on Friday too."

"Seriously?" Tee asked.

"Yeah, apparently she asked him pick her up at her house at seven and to take her to some place called Selina's, is that where Larie's taking Double-N?" she asked.

Tee was impressed, not only had the girls managed to get Sam to go on a date with Jamie in a few hours, but they got the time and place of their date. Maybe he should just ask An and Double-N to help him get Anny, since girls were apparently experts at gathering information and setting this shit up in no time.

"Uh…" he said, trying to remember the name of the place, "I can't remember the name of the place, but he said Double-N had been talking about it and it had all these weird foods from other countries and stuff."

"That's the place." Anny said with a huff, "Did he say anything else about it?"

"Just that you don't need a reservation to eat there and that there is an open space for people to dance… and something about it being semi-formal." Tee recalled, "At least that's what he got off their website last night."

"So they can be easily spotted and Sam can get to them with no trouble." Anny translated, "Do you know anything else?"

"He said he had a surprise for her but he didn't say where or when he planned to do it." Tee said, feeling bad that he couldn't be more helpful, "Sorry, I don't have much information."

"It's fine. How's Jay doing?" she asked, catching him by surprise, she had a chance to hang up on him after getting what she needed, but she then kept the call going by asking how his brother was.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, he probably feels like crap that Sam tricked him into giving him the shitty idea to sabotage his brother's date. I mean, he looked pretty upset at lunch today, I figured I could see how he was and let An know before I hang up and tell her what I know." Tee smiled a bit. He had no idea if she was going to call An right after she was finished talking to him or not, but he was happy that she was going to talk to him some more.

"He was beating himself up while we were at school, but when we picked him up from video game club, he was smiling like a dumbass." Anny chuckled at that, "Yeah, An was pretty happy too." She said.

"He seems okay right now, but you might want to ask An to call him a little later."

"Why? You just said he seems okay…"

"Right now." Tee repeated, "I've caught him looking at Larie with a guilty look on his face a few times since we've gotten home. I think he might crack soon, and if he cracks…"

"…Larie will crush Sam into a million pieces." Anny finished for him.

"Yup."

"Yeah, well, if Sam wasn't An's brother, I'd let you guys have at him if I wasn't already doing it myself. Seriously, that little shit has no idea how lucky he is to have An for a sister, if he was just some random twerp then he'd be dead meat by now." She growled.

"Hey Anny?"

"Yeah, Tee?"

"Did Sam really use to hit you three?" There was a pause, "It was more An then me and Double-N, but yeah, he used to beat the crap out of us, occasionally we'd deserve it, but usually he just was being his hot-headed immature self." Anny said, "Right now the little twerp is going through some complicated shit and sorting out his feelings, and poor An's worried about the little shit."

"What's he doing to get An worried?"

"Apparently he's sniffing his clothes and making funny faces in the mirror or something." Anny said, "But An was really worried, I think you should have Jay call her now, she could use the comfort just as much as Jay does."

"Hang on." Tee said, he then shouted down to Jay that he should call An, "Make sure she got her case from last night, Anny said An can't find it and she's been looking everywhere!" he called down.

"Okay, Tee!" Jay called back up. Tee then shut the door.

"Make sure she got her case?" Anny asked, snickering.

"She left her glasses case here last night." Tee explained, "So she's not doing good?"

"She was better after I talked to her, but she kind of compared Sam to my sister."

"Sam's _that_ bad?" Tee asked in disbelief.

"No." Anny huffed, "If he was, I doubt An would care if you beat the shit out of him..." Anny sighed as she said, "She meant that even though he treated her like shit, they're family. You love your family no matter what." Anny's voice was getting softer as she spoke, "Even though my sister's a heartless bitch, she wasn't _always_ that bad. I've had a couple times with her that I wouldn't give up for anything, and I still would be sad if she just dropped dead somewhere." She admitted bitterly, "But if you tell anyone I said that, I'll tell them that I'd probably dance on her grave."

"Anny, have you ever told anyone that before?" he asked, a little happy that she was opening up to him so much.

"Out loud? … No. But An and Double-N know, even if I've never said it out loud before. And even if she did die, I know I still have two other sisters by my side to help me through it. Also who'd be happy to dance on her grave with me."

Tee cracked up, "Yeah well, if we _do_ have to kill Sam, let me know, we can use the pick-up to move his body, since we know Double-N would _flip_ if we got any of his blood or anything in her van." It was Anny's turn to laugh, "Yeah, she would. But I hope it doesn't come down to violence, as much as I'd love to watch Sam get his ass handed to him, An shouldn't have to suffer too."

"Then lets hope all that weird shit he's doing helps us and not him." Tee said.

"I'm kind of hoping he's committed by that time, but your thing works too." They both laughed. Tee's heart felt light as they talked for another hour before Anny informed him that her mom was shouting that dinner was ready, not that he couldn't hear her mom shouting, "ANNY! DINNER! GET YOUR ASS OUT HERE AND SPEND SOME TIME WITH YOUR FAMILY!" in the background

"Night, Tee, see you tomorrow." She said, then hung up. Tee had the biggest smile on his face as he walked down the stairs and flopped onto the couch next to Larie. Jay was in the kitchen, chatting with An, a huge smile on his face.

"What's with that grin? You just have phone sex or something?" Larie teased.

"Very funny Larie." Tee said, "Anny just wanted me to tell you that she and the girls went shopping for clothes for your date." Larie perked up, "_And_?" he asked, urging his brother to continue, his face eager and impish.

Tee smirked at him, "Oh, I'm not allowed to tell you, but it sounded like you're going to need some extra underwear."

"Hot Damn." Larie said, a huge grin on his face, his stud poking out just enough to reflect some of the light off the TV, his eyes bright with glee.

.

.

.

Sam sat on the couch while he pretended to watch TV. Before dinner An had gotten a call from Jay, then during dinner she got a call from Anny, she left the room for a few minutes then came back and finished eating, then she called Jay back after dinner and she had been talking to him ever since. Dinner had ended at about seven. It was now ten at night. Sam could hear her from down the basement as they played the 'no _you_ hang up first. No_ you_. No _you_' game. Sam was ready to lose it, it was bad enough that he had all these confusing feelings, and his sister just _had _to be the most love-struck person in the world right now, so she really wasn't helping him feel any better.

After his freak out with his Jasmine scented shirt, he grabbed a fresh one from his drawer, but for some reason, there was a faint scent of it there too, he had to throw all his shirts through the wash three times before he couldn't smell it anymore. He had no idea why he suddenly smelled Jasmine everywhere, but the stupid scent was driving him crazy, it made his heart race and made him feel dizzy, if it got any worse, he'd go borrow one of An's nasty smelling good luck charms. It was a bit extreme, but Sam was desperate at this point. His head ached, his brain feeling as if he had thrown that in the wash with his shirts. He had liked Double-N for _years_, she was _perfect in everyway, _she was his _dream_ girl. So why was he now smelling Jamie's stupid perfume everywhere? And why was it making his heart race and his head woozy? He wished there was someone he could talk to about this, but who could he talk to about it? An was an idiot and she'd get pissed if she heard that he was out to ruin Double-N's date, but he didn't know who else to turn to.

"Huh? You want to say something to Sam?" An asked Jay cheerfully, Sam perked up, he could ask Jay for advise… then he realized that he'd have to admit that he was going to use the sabotage thing he suggested the other night to wreck his brother's date…

An skipped over to him, wearing her pajamas, "Sam! Jay wants to say bye!" she called, Sam got up and took his sister's cell phone, "Jay?"

"Bye Sam!" he said, then hung up. Sam looked at the phone, then his sister, "Did he hang up?" she asked.

"Yeah, sorry." He said in a defeated tone.

"Don't be, I'll see him tomorrow." She said cheerfully, then patted his head, "You okay, Baby Brother?"

"I think I need to take a walk, can you leave the door unlocked?"

"I'm supposed to lock the door at night?" she asked, legitimately confused. Sam face-palmed, got up, and left the house, slamming the front door behind him.

.

.

.

The cool night air helped clear his head as well as completely rid him of the smell of Jasmine. He sucked in a refreshing breath of fresh air and let it out in a huff. He decided to walk up to the forest and back. He walked in thoughtful silence as his feet crunched crispy leaves on the ground. He closed his eyes for a second and began making a list about why he should stick to his plan to wreck Double-N's date with Larie. As he made the list, he heard the sound of leaves crunching increase as he walked. Sam quickly spun around, opening his eyes to see… nothing.

Sam felt paranoid, after the two kids from yesterday had told him not to go through with his plan, he had a nightmare about those kids becoming those stupid fairies Rachel always went on about on Valentine's Day and shooting Larie and Double-N, making them kiss in front of him.

Then Larie was suddenly wearing a tux and Double-N was wearing a wedding dress in a church. Sam was sitting in the back, farthest away from them. Larie's brothers and the other Ans were on either side of them, Jay and An waved at him and asked, "Isn't this great? Now they can be together forever!" the word forever echoed in the church until the minister said, "If there is anyone here that believe that these two should not be wed, speak now or forever hold your peace."

Sam pushed against the ground with all his strength, but he couldn't get out of his seat, he tried crying out, but when he opened his mouth, nothing came out. He then watched in horror as the two said "I do" and were legally married. Larie then scooped up his new bride into his arms and carried her princess style, down the aisle when he finally got to Sam, his face turned into one of a demon, but Sam seemed to be the only one who noticed, Sam could finally get out of his seat and he chased them, but no matter how fast he ran, Larie was just getting farther away, Double-N waved good-bye at him with a beautiful, warm gap-toothed smile before Larie got them out of the church and the door slammed behind him, Sam made it to the doors and did everything he could to open them. But they wouldn't budge.

He ran to the window, where he saw Larie and Double-N playing with a toddler with blue hair and a gap in it's teeth outside at a park, the moment it saw Sam, the two front teeth turned into fangs and it's eyes glowed red. Sam then woke up with a start and refused to fall back asleep, afraid of what would happen next in the dream.

Sam looked all around him, feeling as if he was being watched, "Come out!" he cried, "I know you're out there! You don't scare me!"

"Wanna bet?" a boy's voice hissed into his ear, Sam yelped and turned around to see a boy who was about the size Anny was before her growth spurt, two tall girls stood behind him. They had the same jumpsuits as the other two, only their stripes were red, not yellow.

"They asked you nicely last night to back off," the boy growled, "Are you gonna back off?"

"No!" Sam said, "I love Double-N way more then Larie, so I should get her!"

"Pftt, some love." The girl on the left scoffed.

"Yeah, wanting to ruin her date just so _you_ can be happy, how sweet." The one on the right said sarcastically. Sam staggered at the comment, then righted himself, ready for a fight, "I'd make her happy!" he declared, trying to sound braver then he felt.

"Yeah, by tricking her into leaving someone who's been in love with her for over ten years and has actually worked hard to show that he truly cared about her." The one on the left snapped.

"All so she can be with you, who would beat his own sister, one of her best friends, just because things weren't going your way. Or beat her when he got mad. Yeah, great trade off." The one on the right seethed.

Sam felt as if all the air had left his body. How did they know all that stuff?

"Who are you people?" Sam demanded, "What do you want from me?"

"We want you to leave those two alone, you_ idiot_." The boy said.

"And unlike the other two from yesterday…" The one on the left began.

"…We have no problem kicking your butt to ensure that." The one on the right finished.

"Actually," the boy said.

"It'd be our pleasure." The three of them said in unison, their voices dripping with dark glee. Sam knew in an instant that he'd never be able to take these three, so he did the only thing he could think of:

Run away screaming like the little bitch he was.

"AHHHHH!" he screamed as he ran through the forest, the three kids chuckling as they chased him, their laughter reminded him of the way the Kankers used to laugh right before he'd get his ass handed to him. The boy grabbed him and pulled out his tongue and tied it to a tree then pulled him back and let go, Sam smashed head first into the tree, breaking it in half. Then each of the girls grabbed one of his cheeks and Sam felt lightning spark from their gloves and into his face, making his hair puff out into an afro.

"Give up yet?" the boy asked as the girls let go of his face.

"Why do you care?" Sam asked, then pulled a few splinters out of his tongue, "It's not any of your business!" he snapped as he got to work fixing his hair.

"OUR FAMILY IS OUR BUSINESS!" the girls shrieked in unison, scaring every bird in the area, one of them so scared that it craps onto Sam's head, making the middle part of the afro sink in where the bird poop landed.

"I care because your selfishness is going to tear our families apart and I'm not going to let a stupid brat like you hurt our family just because he was upset that the girl he had a crush on didn't like him back!" The boy spat, "and if that means I have to put you in a hospital, I will." The three of them began cracking their knuckles.

"What's going on out here?" a voice called out. Sam glanced over towards the voice and saw Tee Kanker push aside a few low branches. Tee wore red and white flannel pants and had a light coat over his bare chest to protect him from the cool night air, revealing he had a six pack and was very toned and muscular, much to Sam's surprise. (Author: you're welcome Tee fan girls)

He looked at Sam, shocked, "What the fuck happened here?" he asked, looking at the destroyed tree and Sam himself. Sam pointed to the three kids, "They came out of nowhere and started beating the shit out of me!" Sam said. It wasn't the full truth, but Tee didn't have to know that.

"Who?" Tee asked, "There's nobody out here but you." Sam turned to see that, once again, the kids in the jumpsuits had disappeared. He groped at the air, "But, they were right here! Honest!"

"Uh huh." Tee said, not hiding his annoyance of being woken up because Sam was being a loud asshole, "Sure they were."

"They were! There were three of them, two girls and one boy!"

"Sure there were." Tee said, unimpressed, he then walked back home.

"So what was it?" Jay cried from the trailer.

"Sam being a loud asshole!" Tee called back.

"I'm telling the truth!" Sam cried.

"Sam, I don't really give a shit, it's late, the rest of us are trying to sleep, go home and go to bed." Tee snapped. Sam slumped his shoulders and stomped all the way home, kicking stones and grumbling.

.

Tee walked back to the trailer, "What a pain in the ass." Tee grumbled, lifting his hair and rubbing his eyes. The three kids glanced at him from behind a tree, "Whoa." One of the girls said. "So that's…?" the other one asked, both girls looked at the boy for confirmation. "Yup." He said. The three of them looked back at Tee, who was still grumbling about Sam, and watched as he walked all the way back to the trailer and slammed the door behind him.

.

.

.

The next morning, the three Kankers yawned as Larie drove them to school. "So, you and Anny are staying late tonight?" he asked Tee.

Tee nodded, "Yeah. We have to help set up the stage before the dress rehearsal, some of the parents are gonna swing by and help, that big guy, Percy's gonna help us move some of the heavier stuff around." The brothers cracked up at the name 'Percy.'

"What about you, Jay?" Larie asked, "Any special plans with An?"

Jay blushed, "Actually, I've been thinking I should try to get to get to second base, only I'm having a hard time figuring out how to do that without her hating my guts for it."

Larie smirked at him, "Well aren't you ambitious?" he snickered.

"Yeah, what the fuck, Jay? I thought you were just fine cuddling with her all the time, now you want to feel her up?" Tee said, concerned that Larie may have been rubbing off on Jay.

"Yeah, well, I touched them before by accident and I just can't get the feeling out of my mind." Jay explained looking at his hands.

"When the fuck did that happen?" Tee asked.

"When I took her to the movies for our two month anniversary, she gave me a hug and I wasn't really ready for it and I touched them by accident."

"So how'd they feel?" Larie asked.

"Soft and bouncy." Jay said dreamily.

"Well, good luck with that." Tee said, then looked at Larie, "And you give a shit about our lives this morning because…?" Larie usually grumbled and growled this early in the morning, but today, he was awake and cheerful.

"I'm in a good mood." Larie said with a smile, "Today Double-N and I are testing our prototypes and tomorrow I've got a date with her, I _know_ this week is going to rock, so I was wondering how your days were gonna be."

"Long and hard." Tee said. Larie and Jay snickered.

"What?" Tee asked, then he realized why they were laughing and blushed, "Real mature!" He snapped as they laughed all the way to school.

.

.

.

Jamie's stupid Jasmine perfume was suffocating Sam on the bus, but he instead of getting up or opening the window, he had found himself sitting there enjoying the smell while barely listening while Jamie talked about her trip to the mall with the Ans yesterday, only when she mentioned Double-N did he perk up.

"Huh?" he asked.

"I said, when Double-N found her dress for her date, she also found one that would be perfect for me. After I tried it on, she put my hair in this pretty twisted bun and Anny showed me how to do it using An's hair. Then Anny found me these _cute_ shoes and An picked out the _perfect _accessories. Then they gave me a make-over in one of the make-up shops. It was really fun! They said that if I ever wanted to go shopping again to let them know and they'd take me." She said, happily swinging her feet, "I got all of their cell phone numbers so I can call them anytime." She said proudly. Sam smiled, while he didn't normally care about all that stuff, he was glad Jamie had a good time with his sister and her friends.

"Did you hear anything about Double-N's date?" he asked, trying to sound as if he was just participating in the conversation instead of pumping her for information. Jamie paused, thinking, then said, "Apparently Larie's keeping it a secret, making it a surprise for her. Isn't that sweet?" she asked him.

"Yeah." He said, trying not to sound too disappointed, then he asked her, "So what's this Selina's place? I've never heard of it before." He asked, deciding if he couldn't find out about Double-N's date, he might as well find out about his own.

"Oh, Double-N told me about it." Jamie said, "Apparently you can order sample plates of food from other countries, so you can try lots of different dishes without being stuck with one you don't like or getting too full. They also have sort of a dance floor so while you're waiting for your order you can have some fun or just work off some of the food to try something else."

Sam straightened, if she learned about it from Double-N then Larie might have too. "When did she tell you about it?" he asked.

"Last week. My sewing machine broke so I asked Double-N if I could borrow hers. She said yes and we actually talked for a while about all sorts of things when she brought it over, she fixed my machine while I used hers, she even improved mine. Double-N told me about Selina's then, she was really excited about it. I thought it sounded like a nice place too." Jamie explained, then she got a text, she looked at it and her face paled a bit.

"Something wrong?" he asked.

"No." she said quickly, "I think someone must have gotten the wrong number." She said, then quickly shut her phone and looked at Sam, "If you'd rather go somewhere else to eat, though, that's fine too." She said.

"Nah, that Selina's place sounds cool. And Jay taught me how to dance a little, it should be fun." He said, giving her a reassuring smile.

"Jay taught you how to dance?" she asked, surprised.

"A little, I don't know very much. I think I might sign up for one of Tee's dance classes, I mean, he taught Anny how to dance so well that she beat her sister in two weeks." He looked at her, noticed she looked a little upset, then blurted, "Hey, you wanna sign up with me? It could be fun!" he felt his face burn as soon as the words flew off his tongue. Why did he just say that?

A huge excited smile grew on Jamie's face, Sam felt his heart pick up speed, "Okay!" she said, then began bouncing in her seat like An would do when she got excited, "Do you think he could teach us how to waltz? I love that dance, it's so elegant!"

"Oh, Jay taught me that at home!" Sam said excitedly, "It was kind of weird because I had to dance with An, but it was still a lot of fun! Apparently the Ans and Larie know it too so if Jay or Tee is busy we could ask any of them and they'd know what to do." He then heard one of the other boys laughing at him, "You learned how to waltz?" one snickered.

"Lame!" Another called.

"Hey, I learned from Jay Kanker, so shut your pie holes!" Sam snapped. At the name 'Jay Kanker' the boys shrank back into their seats. The Kankers were legends at Peach Creek Junior High, known for their brutality and cruelty that they spread during their time there.

"H-how…"

"He's dating my sister." Sam said with a smirk.

"You mean the stupid red head with the big boobs? Gee, I wonder why he'd date her." one boy said, sending snickers through the other boys.

"HEY THAT'S MY SISTER YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT JERK FACE!" Sam shouted, angrily, looking over his seat, his hands crushing the backrest. There were only two people who could make fun of An being stupid, him and Anny, but Anny hardly ever meant it and Sam was her little brother so he got special privileges, but anyone else saying it was out of the question, especially when they were talking about her relationship with Jay.

"YEAH! AND AN'S NOT STUPID!" Jamie defended, turning around and glaring at the boys, "SHE'S SWEET AND NICE AND JAY'S A GOOD BOYFRIEND TO HER!"

"YEAH! AND IF YOU DON'T SHUT UP ABOUT MY SISTER RIGHT NOW, I'LL GIVE YOU GUYS A BEATING SO BAD YOU'LL WISH JAY BEAT THE SNOT OUT YOU!" Sam threatened. The boys instantly silenced themselves and looked out the windows, pouting or grimacing in defeat. If Jay Kanker had taught Sam how to dance, there was a possibility that he also taught Sam how to fight. And they weren't willing to risk the kind of beating that a Kanker could give. They both slipped back down in their seats. Sam looked at Jamie, grateful, "Thanks for helping." He said, "And for saying all that nice stuff about An."

"No problem." Jamie said, "An's always been really nice to me…" Jamie blushed, "To be honest, I've kind of thought of her as an older sister figure at times, so I'll stand up for her anytime." Sam was a little taken aback, An as a big sister figure to Jamie? He thought about it for a bit, then decided to stop thinking about it once he remembered _when _he first began seeing Jay as a big brother figure.

.

.

.

At lunch, each Kanker was paired with his An and deep in thought. Tee and Anny were working on the little girls' recital, Jay and An were playing a memory game with cards, and Larie and Double-N were talking about their project.

Tee and Anny were going over the plans for the set for the little girls' recital while they munched their sandwiches. The plans were on graph paper they had borrowed from Double-N and drawn out in pencil.

"Do you think we should move that pillar?" Anny asked, pointing to the plan with a red pen she borrowed from Double-N, "because for the girls' second number, it'll be in the way, one of them could hurt themselves."

Tee closed his eyes and thought about how the dance would play out on the stage, Anny was right, for the second number, the pillar was in the way.

"Yeah," Tee said, moving her hand so the pillar she pointed to was circled in red and drew an arrow so the pillar was farther back and drew a new circle showing where the pillar would be placed instead, "Here. That way it'll still look good and the girls won't bump into it." he said.

Anny nodded, her face a bit flushed. Tee was puzzled for a bit until he realized that he was still holding her hand, he quickly let go, "Anyway." He said, blushing, "Grandma wants to put flowers up on those pillars, so it's good that you spotted that or else it could be really bad." Anny nodded again, her face still pink. They were quiet for a second as they pretended to pour over the plans, both blushing.

"Do you know what kind of flowers?" Anny finally asked, "Because we probably shouldn't get anything with thorns in case the girls brush past them while dancing and we should check to see if the girls are allergic to anything first, wouldn't want them to get hurt or have a bad reaction to anything."

"You're pretty good at this, Anny." He said, impressed and happy that she was so cautious with the little girls. 'She'd make a good mom.' He found himself thinking, then turned red as he shook away the thought.

"Yeah, well, they're good kids. It would suck if they don't get their moment to shine because of a stupid pillar or flowers." She said bashfully.

"Are you two planning your wedding or something?" Anny and Tee jumped to see Karen glancing over their shoulders at their plans.

"It's none of your business!" Tee snapped, snatching the plans off the table and shoving them underneath.

"So you _are_." Karen smirked.

"How's Nate?" Anny asked sweetly, "Still in a stink coma from your cheese ball yesterday?" Then Anny made a concerned face, "Or does he get sick at the sight of you because all he can smell is moldy old cheese whenever you're near?"

Tee puffed up his cheeks and pretended to vomit onto the floor, then he and Anny laughed.

Karen scowled, "Fuck you two, your kids will be total jerks." She snapped. Anny looked at Tee, "Where the fuck did that come from?" she asked him.

Tee shrugged, "Beats me." He lied. He didn't want Anny to know that he and his brothers had told her that they saw the Ans as the future mothers of their children. That would probably raise a red flag and could scare them away, completely ruining their progress with them and probably forcing them to start from scratch all over again, and the _fuck_ they were gonna go through all that again.

Karen went over to An and Jay, who were playing a memory game with a deck of cards. You had to flip over 2 of the same kind of card (Aces, Twos, Threes, etc) if you got it, you took the two cards and start making a pile and you had one point.

Jay wasn't very good at it, he only had two points while An had six. But then again, he was kind of looking at her chest again, so yeah, he wasn't paying all that much attention to the game. An had a King of Hearts flipped over and her face was screwed up in concentration as she looked at the remaining cards. She flipped another card over, revealing the Queen of Hearts, "Hey look!" she said with a smile, showing him the King and Queen of Hearts, "It's us!" Jay's face was red and steam screamed from his ears. His goofy smile as wide as always.

"Well that was disgustingly sweet." Karen commented.

"Jealous!" An said smugly.

"Grossed out." Karen clarified.

"Then go away." Jay said plainly.

"Why, am I distracting you from An's chest?" she asked. Jay turned pink, he was _so busted_. An looked down at her chest and noticed a stain that looked like a little heart. "Aww! You found another heart!" An said, pointing to it, giving her boyfriend a smile, "Yeah, that's right, I did." He said, relieved that that stain was there. Karen scowled, "You honestly believe he was looking at that blob on your shirt and not your boobs." Karen asked An, An scowled at her, "It's a heart! You would know that if you had one!" Jay, Anny and Tee burst out laughing. Karen scowled at her and Jay, "Yeah, well, your kids will be idiots." An and Jay turned red and looked at one another, although they had done well in the parenting class, they had decided to wait until they were older to have kids, mainly because they were super tired after only doing it for two weeks_ with_ Sam's help, they doubted they could do it again so soon after that. "I'm not ready for that yet!" Jay cried. "Me neither!" An agreed, they hugged and scooted closer to Anny and Tee, fearful that Karen would somehow magically get them pregnant.

"STAY AWAY FROM US!" They cried out in unison.

Karen rolled her eyes at the two, then walked over to Double-N and Larie, who were talking about where to test their newest project after school.

"The junkyard would be perfect!" Double-N agreed, "Great idea, Larie!" Larie blushed and rubbed the back of his head, "Yeah, well, it just seemed like the best place…"

"Aww, is that where you two are going for your date?" she asked.

"No!" Larie shouted angrily, glaring at her darkly.

"If you must know, we're discussing where we are going to test our prototypes later today." Double-N informed her curtly.

"So why is Larie going to be there?" Karen asked.

"Because we are working on it _together_." Double-N said, "The devices we're testing were thought up by Larie to begin with."

"Then you're right, Double-N, the junkyard _is_ perfect, because they're probably just useless junk if an idiot like Larie worked on them." The Kankers were ready to pop up from their seats and pound her, but Double-N was already way ahead of them, she stood up and jabbed at Karen with her finger, "HOW DARE YOU!" she shouted angrily, catching the entire cafeteria by surprise. "LARIE KANKER HAS MORE INTELLIGENCE IN ONE CELL OF HIS BODY THEN YOU'LL EVER HAVE IN YOUR ENTIRE LIFE AND I'LL KINDLY ASK YOU TO REMEMBER THAT BEFORE YOU OPEN THAT IMMENSE PERFORATION IN YOUR FACE THAT YOU CALL A MOUTH!" She shouted, fuming. Larie watched her, wide-eyed and smiling, "Hot Damn." He said, pleased and impressed, his tongue peeking out the side of his mouth, the stud shining in the light. Jay and Tee were stunned for a second, smiles frozen on their faces.

"Oooh, you got Double-N _mad_!" Anny said, snickering.

"You're in _trouble_!" An chuckled.

Karen opened her mouth to speak, only to be cut off by Larie, "Immense means 'big' and perforation means 'hole'." He translated. "I figured I'd save you the effort of having to look them up since you probably don't know how to spell them." Double-N nodded in agreement, then they sat back down and Larie took her hand, smiling warmly. Double-N smiled sheepishly back, pink in the face. The other Ans and Kankers started laughing hysterically, along with the rest of the cafeteria.

"Yeah, well, your kids will be nerds!" She snapped before storming off.

Double-N turned red and stared at her, shocked at the randomness of the comeback.

"Our babies will be smart _and_ beautiful." Larie said with a dreamy smile. (Author: Whoever gets this reference is officially awesome.)

.

.

.

As much as he didn't want to run into anymore of those kids in jumpsuits, Sam couldn't sit on the bus with Jamie and her perfume again, it would make his feelings more muddled then they already were, so he walked home through a short cut through the forest. Deciding that he'd rather have those jumpsuit kids beat the snot out of him again then deal with his feelings, besides, he was so frustrated by his feelings that he welcomed the chance to let it out with violence. He wouldn't hurt someone without reason ever again, but if those kids started a fight like last night, he could claim self-defense.

He adjusted his backpack on his back, annoyed at how heavy it was. 'Whoever invented homework was a total asshole.' Sam thought as he felt his heavy books shift on his back uncomfortably.

He heard the sound of crunching leaves under his feet, and felt the cool autumn breeze slips through his red hair, he sucked in a breath of the cold air. He needed to figure this whole mess out before his and Larie's dates tomorrow.

First there was Double-N. Double-N was his dream girl, she had been for_ years_, but was she just a dream? The perfect girl that he would never have? And did he even have the right to ruin Larie's chance with her just because he was jealous that Larie had the guts to do what Sam had always wanted to do? Did he even have the right to try and manipulate Double-N's choice in a boyfriend? (Author: Of course you don't, stupid! But I do! )

And then there was Jamie. Jamie had been his best friend, there was no one he was closer to then her, but now he was starting to see her differently and he didn't know what to do about it. Even if he _did_ decide to date her, what would happen if it didn't work out, could they still be friends? Would they still _want_ to be friends? And what if he didn't decide to go out with her, would she be hurt? He didn't want to lose his best friend, but he wasn't sure how he felt about her as a possible_ girlfriend_.

He flipped through his mind, who could ask for advise about his conflicting emotions for two girls? It wasn't like he could talk to Jamie like he always could or his sister An or Double-N, they'd get mad at him for wanting to wreck Double-N's date. He certainly wouldn't ask Anny, she'd kill him for even thinking about it. He couldn't ask Jay, or _any_ Kanker, or they'd kill him. Maybe he could reach out to the other kids in the cul-de-sac?

Nate? Nah, he was in the hospital, something about a bad cheese ball or something?

Karen? No way! She'd make fun of him and then tell everyone, especially Double-N, Jamie and Larie.

Jenny? No, she was very close to An and Jay, she'd tell them what he had planned to do. That and she apparently was busy with her own love life. She apparently had a new boyfriend, some mute guy named Patrick that she met on a camping trip with her parents last week.

Rachel? Maybe, Rachel was actually pretty good at giving advice, she and Double-N both were. But since he obviously couldn't talk to Double-N, Rachel was probably the best option.

Sam decided he'd talk to Rachel about it. He suddenly felt a tug on his pants, he turned around and saw another girl in a jumpsuit, only unlike the other five, this one was _tiny_, but unlike the boy with the red stripe, this one was a little kid, probably no older then four or five and she had a blue stripe.

"I'm Spider-Girl." The little girl said gleefully at him.

"Huh?" Sam said, confused. The other two times he had been visited by the kids in the jumpsuits, they had told him not to mess with Larie and Double-N's date, but this little girl just called herself 'Spider-Girl', whatever that meant.

The little girl pulled out what looked like a laser gun from one of An's movies. Sam yelped as the little girl pulled the trigger and fired at him, only, instead of blasting a hole in Sam, it launched what looked like white silly string at him, the little girl began running around him in circles shouting, "I'M SPIDER-GIRL!" as she wrapped him in the white string from his elbows to his knees, Sam was wobbling to retain his balance when the little girl finished, "I'm Spider-Girl." She said proudly, yet sounding a little bashful at the same time, like she was trying to be modest.

"Our apologies, our sister has a thing for spiders…" a boy's voice said from the left, Sam looked over and saw no one, then looked down, the boy was not much taller then 'Spider-Girl.'

"…Indeed, we had every intention of speaking to you unhindered." A similar voice said to his right, Sam turned to see another boy the same size to his right, he looked back and forth, making sure that the boy hadn't simply thrown his voice or something to trick him.

"Who are you?" Sam demanded. "Why are you doing this?"

"Because we want to live." An older male voice said from behind him, Sam hopped a bit so he could turn to see the tallest and probably the eldest of the four jump suited children he was now dealing with, "And because of your insistence on following this foolhardy endeavor to sabotage their relationship…" Sam noticed that he seemed to flicker a bit, like one of An's video games when they were messed up. "Our lives are in danger." The older one finished, "And although I detest violence…"

"We don't!" the younger boys piped in.

"I'm Spider-Girl!" The little girl repeated gleefully.

"…" the older one stared at the younger ones, the boys seemed to lower their heads a bit, the little girl seemed unfazed by the older one staring at her. "As I was saying, although I detest violence, I have a responsibility as the eldest to protect my younger siblings, all four of them."

"Four?" Sam said, looking around wildly, trying to see the fifth kid in a jumpsuit that he might of missed.

"She's not here, moron." The boy on the left said.

"She's only six months old." The boy on his right informed him.

"Indeed, we would not endanger her by bringing her out here." The eldest informed him.

"I'm Spider-Girl." The little girl repeated.

Sam looked at the boys, "Is that all she says?" he asked.

"Pretty much." The younger boys said in unison, they then grabbed Sam's legs, their small fingers seeming to pierce through his jeans and into his legs, "Do you have a problem with that?" they asked, their tones challenging him to say yes, to give them an excuse to beat the crap out of him.

"No! I was just wondering!" he said nervously, wincing in pain. The boys continued to pinch his legs for a minute or two, then let go.

"As I was saying, it's my responsibility as the eldest to protect four of my siblings," the eldest continued, "by_ any_ means_ necessary_. So unless you agree to end your fruitless and cruel plans right here and now, my apologies in advance for the pain you'll endure, however, you'll have left us no other option." The boys on either side chuckled, the sound making chills crawl up Sam's spine.

"How will me wrecking their date put your lives in danger?" Sam asked, fear making his voice go up an octave.

"That's for us to know…" the eldest began.

"And for you to ascertain for yourself." The boys said, sounding eager for bloodshed.

"I'm Spider-Girl!" the little girl said deviously, pulling out her silly string gun. All three boys' gloves sparked with electricity, blue lightning dancing between their fingers, Sam stepped back, away from the frightening siblings, trying to rip the silly string off his body, but it wouldn't budge, it was tough.

"That's _real_ spider silk." One of the younger boys informed him. As if Sam knew the difference between real and fake spider silk.

"Yeah, good luck getting out of it." the other one chuckled.

Sam's eyes widened in comprehension, "Oh, that's why she calls herself spider-girl!" he said, nodding.

"Indeed." The eldest said.

"That's really interesting…" Sam said as he backed away some more, then finally turned on his heels and ran, shouting, "BUT I HAVE TO GO, BYE!" he shouted, running as fast as he could.

"This'll be fun!" he could hear the younger boys saying in unison. Then he heard what sounded like a jet flying by. He turned to his left and saw the two younger boys with fire rocketing from their boots, "You can run," one said. "But you can't hide!" the other finished.

"I'm Spider-Girl!" the little girl's voice called out excitedly from the other side, Sam turned to see the girl and the eldest boy on his other side, also flying in the air.

"Shouldn't have done that!" one of the younger boys shouted from in front of him, grabbing him by the shirt and giving him a light shock.

"Indeed, you should have kept your eyes up ahead!" the other one said from behind, giving him another. Sam managed to push the two away with his feet towards two trees, "Yes!" he cried. Only for the little girl to shoot her gun again, this time making a web and stopping the boys from crashing into the trees. "Thanks." The boys said in unison.

"I'm Spider-Girl." The girl said proudly. The eldest clenched his fists, which were bright and sparking wildly, "How _dare_ you!" he seethed, then blasted forward, "_No one _injures my little brothers!" he cried angrily, grabbing Sam by the silk and smashing him into whatever he passed as he surged forward with amazing speed, the spider silk holding him ripping as Sam was pummeled by nature, until the eldest suddenly turned to avoid a large tree, the sudden change in direction ripping the silk and freeing Sam.

Sam skidded into the ground, then dashed forward, realizing he was running towards the junkyard. Sam dashed forward, hoping that he could find help there, he heard the jet sound behind him as well as the boys cackling and the little girl shouting, "I'M SPIDER-GIRL!" as she fired another shot, Sam began running in a zig-zag pattern, dodging her shot.

He ran with everything he had, dodging electrical hands trying to grab him and spider silk shots, he finally made it to the fence to the junkyard and scrambled up it. He got to the top and fell over to avoid getting snatched by the little girl, crashing into garbage. He quickly rolled off it and ran around, looking around wildly for any kind of help.

Then he finally found it.

The Ans' retro-van.

'Thank God.' He thought as he slammed himself into the back doors of the van and scrambled to squeeze himself inside.

.

.

.

After school, Ann and Larie dropped An and Jay at her house then went to Ann's house to pick up the helmet, boots and gloves as well as Ann's laptop and drove to the junk yard. Larie watched at her as she drove, infatuated. He couldn't believe after so many years he finally had a date with her. He remembered when he and his brothers had arrived in Peach Creek and had finally found their girls again.

.

.

.

(FLASHBACK #3!)

.

.

.

The boys sat on the porch step of their trailer, bored.

They sighed in unison, their father had gotten a new job and, without telling them before hand or giving them any warning, had literally attached the trailer to the pick up and drove to the Flush and Go Trailer Park over night, not giving the boys any chance to say good-bye to their friends or anything. They had literally woke up and found their home had moved overnight, after getting over the anger and sadness that they had literally been pulled out of their old lives to move to someplace they'd never seen or been to before, they were now bored out of their minds, since there weren't any kids in the trailer park besides them.

Their dad came out of the Trailer, wearing a blue jumpsuit for his new mechanic job, he had red hair like Tee and a face like Larie's. He had a lean, muscular frame and five-o-clock shadow on his chin and upper lip that he didn't have time to shave off. "Stop sitting there like lumps!" their dad snapped, "You'll love it here in Peach Creek!" the boys perked up at the name of the town, "Did you just say Peach Creek?" Tee asked.

"Yeah." He said, giving his eldest son a funny look before hopping into the pick up and heading to work.

The brothers looked at one another, big smiles growing on their faces as they remembered what young Anny had said to them, 'If you're ever in Peach Creek…' Their dream girls were here! They dashed out of the trailer park and went out to see if they could find any clue to where the Ans were.

.

.

.

After beating the crap out of the kids from the cul-de-sac for talking shit about their Ans, they ran into the forest, excited to see what their girls would look like after all these years and if they'd recognize them. They dashed through the forest and made it to the swamp, hoping on low branches so their feet wouldn't get stuck in the muck. That's when Jay spotted them, "Over there!" he whispered, pointing to a small clearing in the brush, where they could see three girls that looked a lot like the ones they had met when they were only six.

All three girls were obviously taller, but An was still the tallest, with Ann, or Double-N, in the middle and Anny was still the shortest of the three.

An's red hair was cut short, so it looked a lot like a boy's haircut, she wore a green vest over her red and white striped long sleeved shirt and she wore jeans instead of a jean skirt, she wore thick rubber boots and gloves. An trotted happily with her friends, her big smile just the same as it was back then. Jay's face broke out into a goofy love-struck grin, he sighed at the sight of her, "That's An, alright." He said dreamily.

Anny's ears were now adorned with golden hoops, her hair was shorter and down to her chin, but it framed her face nicely. She wore a yellow blouse with a purple collar and jeans. She, like An, wore thick rubber boots and gloves, her hands in her pockets, "So how much farther, Sock-head?" she asked, sounding unimpressed. Tee chuckled, "That's my Anny," he said, his smile sliding up his face and his eyes glazing over a bit.

Ann's hair had grown out, it was now down to her shoulders, she still wore her hat. She wore a red tank top, a purple skirt and red tights. She wore the same boots and gloves as An and Anny. She gave her friends a big smile, revealing that the gap between her two front teeth had closed a bit over the years, but it was still cute to Larie. "I assure you, ladies, it's not much farther now."

"Hot damn." Larie said, leaning against a tree, with a big smile on his face, "That's Double-N alright." They watched in silence as the girls continued through the muck, none of them speaking, but none of them making a move either, at least, not until the girls had gone farther in.

"They're getting away!" Jay whispered.

"Why are you whispering?" Larie asked him, also whispering.

"Cause I don't wanna scare them." Jay replied, still whispering, "This place is pretty creepy as is, I don't want them freaking out."

"Guys!" Tee cried, "Let's go, or we'll lose 'um!" His brothers nodded and they followed the girls deeper in, when they finally reached them, they saw that An had gotten herself stuck to a _HUGE_ spider web, Anny was laughing while Double-N scolded her, "An! You get down from there this instant! You're disturbing that spider's web!"

"This is so cool, this is like 'Scurg of the Spider People!'" An cried, bouncing on the web.

The guys started to crack up too, but didn't realize that the girls could hear them, suddenly they looked nervous, "What was that?" Anny asked, looking around anxiously.

"An! Get down from there!" Double-N said, fearful of whatever made the noise, An struggled to get free, but it was no good.

"I'm stuck, guys!" An cried, her voice edged with panic.

"We're coming An!" Anny cried as she and Double-N yanked on her feet, finally pulling her free, knocking them all into the muck.

"Filthy!" Double-N cried, wiping muck off of herself. Jay stepped on a twig with a loud SNAP! The girls let out a cry and hugged each other, shaking with fright.

"Hey, it's kind of cute how they get scared like that." Larie said softly, staring at Double-N's knees knock and how she held a hand up to her face, looking scared. Tee and Jay looked at him, concerned, then looked back their girls, slowly seeing what he meant. The way the girls pouted their lips, the way their legs shook, the way their eyes got big, it made them seem more vulnerable and in need of protection. And that appealed to them for some reason.

"Now that you mention it…" Tee muttered.

"They are kind of cute like that." Jay agreed. The brothers looked at each other and smiled, "An, Ann and Anny sitting in a tree!" they began to chant, "K-I-S-S-I-N-G."

They kept saying those words as they watched their girls freak out, until they fainted. Then they looked at each other, panicked. They had gone too far and now their girls were sinking into the muck. They quickly ran out and pulled their girls out, Tee pulled Anny out, princess-style. Larie scooped Double-N up the same way. Jay tried, but his girl was bigger then him, so he pulled her upper half out of the muck.

"Now what do we do?" Jay asked. Tee looked down at Anny, who was covered in muck and was soaked and shivering in his arms, he felt awful. All of them did. They had promised to protect them, and what was the first thing they did? Finally tell them their names? Reveal themselves as the boys they kissed when they were _six_? Say hi?

NO! They _had_ to scare them and make them faint into gross gunk.

Tee looked at his younger brothers and said, "We take them home, call Grandma, get her to help us clean them up, and then take care of 'um." He said, "Like we're _supposed to_." His brothers nodded and they walked home, Tee still carrying Anny like a princess, Larie had tossed Double-N over to his back so he could give her a piggyback ride to the trailer, Jay had trouble at first, then he tipped An over a bit, so he could half carry her back to the trailer, her feet dragging through the mud as he took her home.

.

.

.

Luckily their grandma had the day off, so she got there in a hurry, the moment she saw the three girls, she instantly knew what the boys had done and face palmed.

"You couldn't just say 'Hi'?" she asked them, the boys winced at that, but they knew it was well deserved. Their grandma then sent them up to their rooms while she cleaned the girls up.

When she was done and had put their clothes in the wash, she asked for the boys to pull out some clothes for the girls to wear, the boys looked at each other, they hadn't thought about what the girls were going to wear while their clothes were being cleaned. Their grandma face-palmed again and led them to their father's room and searched his closet. Luckily they had found their mom's old robes, Gladys took them and walked back downstairs, clothing the girls before the boys were allowed back downstairs.

She then handed Larie Double-N's hat, "I think she'll feel better with that cleaned up sooner better then later." she said, pointing to the girls passed out on the floor. Apparently Double-N had more under her hat then lighters, perfume samples and pamphlets, because her shoulder-length black hair was actually waist length. His brothers were amazed by it for about ten seconds before staring lovingly at their Ans.

"Whoa…" he said, amazed and a little mesmerized at the sight. His grandma flicked his forehead, snapping him out of his daze, "the hat, Larie, she obviously hides all that hair for a reason, so let's be nice and pretend as if we hadn't seen it." She said, pointing out Double-N's small frown.

Larie nodded and washed it thoroughly, then held it over a fan to dry. After he was finished, he placed it onto her head and stuffed the rest of her hair back into it. Double-N's face seemed to relax a bit, although Larie had no idea _why_. He thought she looked pretty with long hair, so why was she going to such lengths to hide it? But before he could ask, the girls started to wake. Gladys quickly slipped out, "I'll leave you kids alone now!" she sang as she then hopped into her car and drove away, leaving her clueless grandsons alone with girls they'd had crushes on since they were six.

.

.

.

That night, the boys wallowed in the disaster of what happened earlier that day on the couch, watching the aquarium channel.

"It was going so well at first." Jay lamented.

"Where did we go wrong?" Larie asked.

"I dunno." Tee relented, falling backwards into the seat cushion. Their father came home and looked at his sons, "What's eating you three?" he asked. Tee told him what happened earlier that day, their father sighed, "Scoot over." He said. His boys obeyed. He sat down between Larie and Tee, then pulled his boys close, "Boys, you probably confused them, being all friendly at first, you put them at ease so quickly that you three got trapped in the friend-zone. If you three are aiming for the boyfriend zone, you have to be aggressive, show them how much you care with constant affection. Got it?" His boys nodded eagerly, their eyes wide.

"Good, now, Larie, go take out the trash."

"What!" he cried, Jay and Tee laughed as their dad said, "Get going!" Larie scowled, but obeyed, grumbling as he dragged a huge trashbag to the door and opened it to find…

_Double-N_, holding their mother's bathrobes, which looked fluffier and cleaner then they had been when the girls had left screaming and running for their lives earlier, in her arms while the other Ans were hiding behind the sign to the trailer park.

"Um…" she said, then gave him a toothy grin while carefully putting the robes onto the last step and slowly backing away. "GUYS!" Larie called, a smile growing on his face, "COME LOOK TO SEE WHO PAID US A VISIT!" he called into the trailer. His brothers hopped off the couch and looked outside and saw the Ans outside their trailer, and grins crawled up their faces too.

"Well, look who we've got here." Tee smirked.

"It looks like our new friends are back." Jay agreed happily.

Double-N had made it to the sign where her friends had been waiting for her, "Yes, well, we wanted to return the robes you loaned us… So, welcome to the neighborhood, it was nice meeting you three… GOODBYE!" she said, the three girls backing away slowly as she spoke until they broke out into a full dash at the words 'good bye.' The boys ran and quickly grabbed them, surprised to see that the girls, who had attacked a grown man easily enough when they were only six, barely put up any resistance to their grabbing them. The boys looked at one another and looked horrified, their dad was _right_! They were in the… the…

_Friend-Zone._

They realized they had to work fast to make their intentions clear.

"We should at least thank you three for returning our moms' robes." Jay said, pulling An into a hug.

"Yeah, thanks, Muffin." Larie purred into Double-N's ear as he pulled her close to him.

"I think I know how we can do that, boys." Tee said, then kissed a stunned Anny on the forehead.

"ANNY!" her friends cried. Jay then kissed An on the left cheek and Larie kissed Double-N on the right. The boys then learned how much they liked kissing their Ans, so instead of one kiss mirroring the ones the girls had given them that day, they smothered the girls in them. By the time they were done all three girls were covered in hickeys and running away, panicked. They laughed, threw the garbage into the trashcan, then went to pick up their moms' robes.

They really _were_ much softer and cleaner then before.

"The girls must have washed them for us." Jay said, holding it close to his chest, only for a piece of paper to slip out. "Huh?" Jay picked it up and squinted, trying to read it, "It's just a bunch of scribbles… wait!" he said, "Dear Jay, sorry for taking your mom's robe. An." His brothers walked over and looked over his shoulder, he was right, it _was_ covered in scribbles, but next to each one, in clean and perfect cursive, was a translation of what each scribble meant, the only scribble that was identifiable was An's name. Jay smiled and pulled the note to his chest. Tee looked in his mom's robe and pulled out another note.

"What's it say?" Jay asked him.

"Tee. Sorry. Anny." He read, then smirked, "Yeah, she'd write this." He said, throwing the robe over his shoulder, tucking the note into his pocket and walking back inside, Jay hopping in right after him, robe tucked under his arm and note clutched firmly in both hands. Larie looked through his mom's robe and found a neatly folded note, written in the same perfect cursive that had translated An's note,

"Dear Larie,

I am truly sorry for our behavior earlier, it was very rude and un-neighborly of us. Especially for us to run off in your mothers' robes like that. So we cleaned them at my house, I know it doesn't make up for what happened earlier, but I hope we can have a fresh start tomorrow.

Sincerely,

Ann (Double-N)"

Larie smiled dreamily, "Hot damn." He said, then walked back inside, robe and note in hand, and shut the door behind him.

.

.

.

(end of flashback)

.

.

.

"Larie?" Larie shook his head, Ann was looking at him, a little worried. "Are you alright?"

"Oh! Yeah, sorry." He said, giving her a reassuring smile and grabbing her hand, "Just reminiscing." He explained sheepishly. Ann smiled and nodded, understanding, "Well, we're here…"

Suddenly there was a WHAM! from the back of the van. Larie pulled her close, defensively, "What the…?" the back doors of the van suddenly opened just enough for Sam to squeeze in and slam them closed, breathing heavily. He looked as if he just broke out of an insane asylum, his hair was a mess, he had various stains and tears in his pink t-shirt and his jeans, he had various cuts and bruises all over, his eyes were wide and full of fear.

"THEY'RE AFTER ME!" he cried, shaking. Larie and Double-N looked at one another, "Stay with him." Larie said, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his knife, "Here."

"Larie." She looked at him plainly, then reached over to the glove compartment and pulled out the electrified net gun they had made and pumped it up. Larie smiled, "Hot Damn." he said, then kissed her forehead and hopped out, slinking close to the van and closing the door behind him, he motioned for Ann to lock the doors. She nodded and did so. He then hopped out to face whatever was in the back…

Only to find that there was nothing there. Larie looked all around the van, he even looked over and under it, nothing. He then knocked the back doors of the van, "It's me." He said, he heard the locks open, then opened the doors, where Sam shook like a leaf while Double-N was patching him up.

"There's nothing out here, Sam." Sam looked at him, wild eyed and frightened, "There were four of them! I swear!" he held up the helmet, "They wore helmets like this and…" he stopped, "and gloves and boots like these…" he looked at Larie, "Why do you guys have this stuff?"

"We just finished making them." Larie said, "We were gonna test them today." Sam looked at the helmet, frightened.

"Larie, perhaps we can test the helmet and boots while proving to Sam that there's no one else here." Ann suggested. "If there _is_ someone here who seems suspicious, you can use the gloves." Larie looked at her, stunned, then he saw her mouth, 'Please humor him, he's really upset.' He looked at Sam, whose eyes were twitching and who looked like he was close to cracking.

"Alright." He relented, "But I want you to keep the net gun out." He said, "Just in case." She smiled gratefully and nodded. Sam gave him a grateful nod, "Thank you, Larie." He said, he didn't sound very happy that he had to thank Larie, but he sounded legitimately grateful. Larie nodded and helped Ann out of the van, his hands tingling at the touch of her skin and a soft smile on his face. 'Because I like somebody else.' She had said. And she had meant _him_. He might not trust Sam, but he trusted Ann. And he knew she would have no problem shocking Sam if she had to.

"Alright, we're going to need to set up." He said, motioning for Sam to move some of the stuff towards the back for him and Ann to start.

.

The four kids hid behind a pile of car parts, watching as Larie and Ann pulled their stuff out of the van.

"We're quite lucky to see both of them, aren't we?" one of the younger boys whispered softly.

"Indeed, the others only saw one." The other agreed.

"Well, the time we can spend watching them is halved, I'm afraid. Look." The eldest said bitterly, pointing to the helmet and the boots, "I'm afraid they'll be actively looking for us shortly." He informed his siblings, the girl looked at him, pointing at Larie and Ann. The boys looked to the eldest, who sighed and gently patted her helmet.

"I know you want to watch them a little more, we all do, but we can't risk them finding us." The eldest said softly, the girl hung her head sadly, the boys patted her on the back, "It's not like we'll never see them again." One said gently.

"Indeed, this farewell will be brief." The other agreed. The girl nodded sadly as her brothers blasted into the sky, she looked back at Ann and Larie as they inspected the gear.

"Bye-bye." She said sadly, giving them a small wave good bye before blasting off behind her brothers.

.

.

.

Sam watched as Larie opened up Double-N's laptop and started up a program called 'Larie-bot 1 Protocol' 'Ugg, he must have named it that.' Sam thought as he watched Double-N help Larie put on the boots and gloves and connected them to the helmet with a bunch of wires. Larie gave her a kiss on the tip of her nose before he put on the helmet, Double-N's face was pink as she pulled out a Bluetooth ear piece from her hat and turned it on, "Larie, can you hear me?" she asked him.

"Loud and clear." Sam could barely hear him say from the device in her ear as he gave her a thumbs up.

"Alright, I'm going to activate the cameras now." She said, Larie nodded. She walked over to her laptop and tapped a few keys, then several windows opened, one with Larie's face in the lower right hand corner.

"Can you see?" she asked him.

"Roger." He said with a laugh. Double-N then handed Sam a Bluetooth ear piece, "He'll need to hear a description to know what he's looking for, I'll put the basic information into the helmets' targeting system as well." Sam put the ear piece in and told them what little information he had, Double-N typed in the data into her computer.

"So you're telling us that you got your ass handed to you by a five year old?" Larie snickered, his thick gloves wrapped around his stomach as he laughed.

"She tied me up!" Sam defended.

"Maybe she wanted to play with you, Sam." Double-N suggested.

"So her brothers beating me up was part of the game?"

"Well maybe they didn't know she wanted to play with you." She rationalized, "Perhaps all they saw was their little sister with a stranger and were afraid you might hurt her?"

"She tied _me_ up." Sam repeated.

"There are some sick people in the world, Sam, you have to be _super_ careful when it comes to little kids." Larie said, "for all they knew, you could have _asked_ her to do that because you_ like_ it."

"So they _attacked_ me?" he asked.

"An would do the same if she thought you were in danger." Double-N reminded him. He winced, then nodded. He knew the only reason Jay and probably most people didn't hurt Sam was because of An. Why did everyone have to remind him what a wonderful big sister she was and how much of an ungrateful little douche he was?

He felt bad about it already. He stared angrily at his shoes, pouting.

"If that's the case, we should probably find them anyway to explain that you weren't trying to hurt her, we wouldn't want them to report to the police that you did something you're not guilty of." Double-N said, still trying to humor him.

"Yeah, it's bad enough you got your ass handed to you by a little girl." Larie teased. Double-N scowled at him, "Larie!" she scolded.

"Alright, alright, I'm sorry." He said, holding his hands up in surrender, then let them fall back down to his sides, relaxed. "Now let's see if these boots were made for flying." He said eagerly. Double-N smiled at that and began typing into her computer, various charts and diagrams appeared on the screen, "Lift off in 3…" Sam heard the same sound he had earlier with the four siblings in the forest, he watched as the boots expanded a bit.

"2…"

Larie bent his knees.

"1…" Larie leapt into the air.

"Blast off!" Double-N cried. Fire erupted from the bottom of the boots while he was still in mid jump, allowing Larie to hover in the air. Even though the four kids from before had used something very similar, and that freaked him out, he had to admit that the boots were pretty cool.

"Hot Damn!" Larie cried, "They work!"

"This is fantastic!" Double-N cheered, clasping her hands together, "Larie, try and see if you can move in other directions," she instructed as she began typing into the computer, "I'm putting your motion specs into the helmet's database now."

"Motion specs?" Sam asked, reminding the two that he was still there.

Double-N nodded, "I had Larie do various actions in front of a camera so I could map out how he moves normally..."

"I still say that was just an excuse to stare at my ass." Larie teased.

Double-N turned pink, "I assure you, Larie, I did not stare!" He chuckled at that, Double-N went from pink to red, then looked at Sam, "Anyway, I mapped out his motions and put them into the computer. So when they finish uploading…" she said, waiting for the loading bar on her screen to go from 99% to 100%, "the helmet can adjust the power needed in his boots to administer to his needs, allowing him to move while in mid-air easier and smoother." She explained, "Try it out, Larie." She said. Larie nodded as more flames blasted out of the bottom of his boots, he then turned, with a little difficulty. Sam chuckled at that, Double-N glared at him as Larie snapped, "Hey, this isn't as easy as I make it look. And since I can't test these gloves on little kids trying to defend their five year old sister, I have no problem trying them out on you if you keep laughing." Sam glanced at Double-N, who nodded angrily, "Approved." She said sharply.

"But!"

"Sam…" she said in a warning tone.

Sam slumped over, "Sorry Larie." He grumbled. Larie then went to fly around the junk yard, looking out for the kids Sam described. Double-N went back to monitoring her computer, occasionally glancing down at the bottom corner and smiling. Sam's chest ached, "Hey, can I ask you a question?" he asked.

"You just did." Larie informed him, reminding Sam that he could still hear him.

"Certainly, Sam." Double-N replied, "What's on your mind?"

'How much time you got?' Sam thought bitterly. He couldn't ask her about her date, he couldn't ask her who she'd choose either him or Larie, he couldn't ask her who he should choose either, so what could he ask her that had nothing to do with her or the guy with the electric gloves flying around?

"Has Jamie always worn that Jasmine perfume?" he finally asked. Double-N seemed surprised by the question, then a huge smile grew on her lips, she put her hand up to suppress a chuckle.

"What?" Sam asked, anxious and a little upset that she was laughing at him.

"Sam, when did you start smelling that perfume?" she asked.

"Yesterday." He said, Double-N bit her lip, trying to stop herself from laughing at him, but she quickly let go and began giggling

"What?" he asked again.

"She's been wearing that perfume for _years,_ Sam. Ever since you _gave_ it to her for her birthday, there hasn't been a day that she _hasn't_ worn it." she explained.

"Seriously?" Larie asked, sounding surprised and even a little impressed, "Man, she must _like_ you."

"She's my best friend." Sam snapped, "Of _course_ she likes me."

"Not _that_ kind of like, dumbass." Larie said, "The _other_ kind." Double-N covered her mouth with both hands as she continued laughing, "She's had a crush on you for _years_, Sam." She informed him.

"What?" He asked, stunned, "How…"

"An figured it out _years_ ago, she was the first one to notice it." Double-N said, a little proud of his sister. "It quickly became obvious after she pointed it out to the rest of us in the cul-de-sac. Even the Kanker brothers noticed it."

"You never noticed?" Larie asked, Sam saw him shake his head in the window in the corner, "Poor girl."

"Shut up!" he snapped, he suddenly felt dizzy, he put his hands on his head, trying to keep it from spinning. She'd liked him for _years_? And _**AN**_ of all people was the first to notice? Instead of him, who he _thought _knew Jamie best?

"Hey Muffin? I don't see anyone out here, I mean, I see some animals and bugs, but no other people, I'm coming back."

"Alright, I'll see you in a bit."

"Can't wait!" He said, smiling eagerly in the window. Double-N smiled at that. Sam hugged himself, he was so confused, now he felt more torn then before.

Larie soon was hovering near the van's back doors, "Landing procedures uploading now." Double-N informed him. Soon he slowly was lowered to the ground, his boots finally landing with a thud. He pulled off the helmet, his head sweating profusely.

"I think we should have a ventilation system in the helmet." He said, wiping sweat off his forehead. Double-N then made him sit down while she went towards the front of the van, where she opened the box that separated the front seats to the back of the van, she opened it, revealing it to be a cooler, then pulled out a water bottle and closed it back up. She scrambled back, unscrewing the cap and handing it to him, "You should have said something earlier, Larie!" she said, her tone angry and worried, as he poured it down his throat. "You could've passed out and crashed!"

"Sorry." He said sheepishly after emptying half the bottle into his mouth, lifting the soaked hair that clung on the back of his neck to try and cool himself down.

She went back up to the front, grabbing more things out of secret compartments.

"Hey Larie." Sam asked.

"Yeah?"

"How did you know?"

"Know what?" he asked, obviously exhausted. Sam pointed to Double-N, Larie's eyes widened in comprehension, "I just did. Still do." He said with a smile and a shrug.

"How?" Sam asked, probably looking pitiful.

"Have you held Jamie's hand in a while?" Larie asked, smirking.

"No." Sam said, a little confused. He hadn't held hands with her since the older kids in the cul-de-sac had moved onto high school, people were starting to make fun of them, so Sam stopped holding hands with her. It had been a long time since then.

Larie put the helmet back on, much to Double-N's concern, "What are you doing?" she asked, reaching to take it off.

"Showing him something, it'll be short, I promise." He said, then held his hands up and said, "You mind starting these up before I pass out?" Double-N scowled at him, "Please, Muffin." he pleaded. Double-N looked upset, but then relented with a sigh, going to her computer and began typing. "Program's been downloaded." She informed him.

Sparks erupted from Larie's gloves, arcs of blue lightning sprang between his fingers, he then had them shrink into smaller sparks, electricity would wiggle in between his fingers. "If your hands feel warm and feel like how this looks, and this feeling crawls up from your fingers to your heart, you'll know." Larie explained. Sam looked at his hands, then at the gloves.

"I'm powering it down now," Double-N said, a small smile on her face as the sparks reduced into a blue glow, then to nothing. Then Larie ripped the helmet off of his head, "Man it's hot in there!" he said, then Double-N and Sam helped remove the gloves and boots. The boots were pretty bad, they made his feet stink like An's, Larie had to lie down on the mattress with his feet sticking out of the van for a bit, Sam and Double-N removed their Bluetooth ear pieces and Double-N put them with the helmet, boots and gloves and her laptop. Then Double-N made him move up closer to the front when they were ready to leave. She had him sit up on the back of the passenger side seat. She had pulled out a few more bottles of water, a towel and a small hand held fan for him, "If you feel dizzy, tell me before you lie down, that way I know you haven't passed out." He nodded, smiling at her gratefully, "Thanks Ann." He said softly. Double-N turned crimson red and stuttered back, "I-it's no p-problem, Larie." Then started the van and began driving back to the cul-de-sac. Sam had never seen Double-N react like that to anyone calling her by her _real _name before. He looked at his hands and looked at Double-N, he couldn't recall ever holding her hand before, so he had no idea if he got the tingly feeling or not. As for Jamie, he hadn't held hers in a while, so he couldn't recall any special feelings from holding hands, but since he was also seeing her differently from how he used to, it would probably be different anyway.

Double-N dropped him off at home, "Thanks Double-N." he said, holding out his hand. Double-N looked at it for a second, a little shocked, she then gave him a friendly smile and took it in a firm grip and shook it. "You're quite welcome, Sam." She said, then let go.

Nothing.

He had felt no sparks or anything at her touch. "See ya Larie." Sam called back to him as he hopped out of the car, Larie lifted his hand, then lowered it. Sam watched as the van pulled out of his driveway and headed to Double-N's house. He stood outside while he watched Double-N help Larie out of the van and into her house, probably to ensure that he drank plenty of fluids and was completely alright before he went home.

He was happy for them. And he was happy for himself. He had finally figured out which girl he wanted. He looked at his hands, then at Jamie's house, then quickly shoved them into his pockets and walked up to his house swiftly, 'I'll do it tomorrow!' he thought as he quickly fled inside his house.

.

.

.

Jay and Sam sat in the living room, quiet and unmoving. An had been asked to help with dinner by her mother, leaving the two alone, watching TV.

Holy crap, it was awkward.

Jay glanced at Sam out of the corner of his eye, he didn't like being mad at the kid, but he was just a mess right now.

"Hey Jay." Sam suddenly said, making him jump.

"Yeah?" he replied, startled.

"When you hold An's hand, does yours feel tingly? Kind of like electricity's running through your hands up your arm and into your heart?" he asked. Jay looked at him, surprised, "Yeah." He said, "It's exactly like that." Sam looked at his hands, "I shook Double-N's hand today, but I didn't feel anything like that."

"Well, did you try Jamie's hand?" Sam turned pink and looked up at him, shocked, then realization dulled it, "An told you, huh?" he sighed.

"Yeah, congrats on the date." He said, smiling and ruffling his hair. Sam looked shocked then smiled back at him, "Yeah, well," his smile faded into a frustrated pout, "I don't really know what to do, I mean, she's my _best friend_. What if it doesn't work out? What if I don't feel the spark when I hold her hand? What if we do date and then break up, can we still be friends?" Sam grabbed at his hair, Jay patted him on the back, "Hey, isn't that why you're going on the date? To find out?" Sam looked up at him, amazed, then his face lit up, "Hey, yeah!" he hugged Jay, much to his surprise, "Thanks Jay!" he said. Jay looked down at him, then smiled, he ruffled his hair, "No problem, Sammy." He said.

"Dinner!" An told them, smiling and giggling like she had been standing there for a while, eavesdropping. Sam quickly let go, face red and dashed past her to get into the kitchen. Jay got up and smiled at her, "I think we don't have to worry about either of our brothers' dates tomorrow." He said proudly. An pulled him into a kiss and hugged him tightly, then he felt something… (well besides the usual glee he felt whenever he got hugs and kisses from An)

Her heart beat.

That was weird. Normally he just felt _his_ heart go a mile a minute when she hugged him, but he could feel hers too. He felt his face burn hotter, he had never felt her heart beat when they hugged before. And it was going just as if, if not_ faster_ then his own. He felt more connected to her and closer to her. His big happy, goofy grin expanded on his face. Tee had been right, Jay was perfectly fine just hugging and kissing his girlfriend. One day he'd get to second base, but there was no rush.

"Hey, I felt your heart beating." He said when she let go. She smiled, "Yeah, I felt yours too! I was wondering why I couldn't feel it before, but I figured it out!"

"Really?" he asked, intrigued.

"Yeah, something was blocking it." An said, proud that she had figured it out.

"That so? What was it?" he asked.

"My bra."

"What?" he asked, feeling his whole body heat up, his face and where she had hugged him felt as if they were on fire.

"Yeah, I wanted to feel your heart beat so I took it off." She said with a smile.

Jay's heart was going so fast he was afraid it was going to explode, "You did what now?" he asked, his voice about two octaves higher then normal, his pants suddenly felt tight, steam was screaming from his ears, his head felt as if it was floating.

"I took off my bra so I could feel your heart beat, smart huh?" Jay nodded. She smiled, gave him another hug, Jay pulled her close, feeling her chest against his, their heart beats matching up.

"Best. Girlfriend. Ever." He said, earning himself a kiss before she led him into the kitchen, his hand tingling along with his chest, lips, and something in his pants.

.

The two kids with the yellow stripe looked into the window into An's Kitchen, where An and Sam's parents, An, Sam and Jay all ate dinner and chatted happily, laughing on occasion.

"So everything's good now, big sister?" the boy asked.

"Yeah, baby brother, everything's going to be okay again." The girl said, putting her arm around her little brother as they watched An and Jay laugh at a joke Sam told them.

"I still wish we could say hi." The boy said sadly.

"Me too, Sheldon. Me too."

.

.

.

Anny and Tee were worn out by the time they finally got into the pick-up to go home. After going over parts of the recital with the little girls, they had spent _three hours_ setting up the stage, Percy was a huge help, if it wasn't for him, they'd probably been there all night moving half that shit up onto the stage. Also Percy was the one who brought pizza.

They were quiet for most of the ride home, until Anny got a text from An, "It looks like Sam picked Jamie." Anny said, sounding tired, yet happy, "so we don't have to worry about him ruining Larie and Double-N's date." She looked at him, smiling, "well, at least not on purpose." Tee laughed, feeling a little energy surge back into his tired body along with it. They were quiet again, not really knowing what else to say. Tee sucked in a breath, "Hey Anny?"

"Yeah Tee?"

"Since Larie's using the pick-up for his date tomorrow, you mind if I bum a ride home from you in the van tomorrow?"

"Sure, no problem." She said plainly, "Do you need it _to_ the studio as well as _from_ the studio?" Tee stopped, thinking. The Ans would go home in the van after school, Tee would drive his brothers home, An and Jay were meeting up half way in between the trailer park and the cul-de-sac and going back to the trailer for old horror movies and whatever else they did that Tee didn't really want to know about, Larie would take the pick-up for his date with Double-N, so he wouldn't be able to drive to the studio tomorrow.

"Yes." He said finally.

"Took you long enough to figure out." She teased, typing into her phone.

"Just double-checking." He glanced over at her, "Whatcha doing?" he asked her.

"Texting Jamie to let her know Sam chose her over Double-N, we're driving right behind where her house is, so we'll probably hear her…"

They suddenly heard a squeal from their right, they both jumped at the sound, Tee's grip on the steering wheel tightened. After they had recovered from the shock, Tee guessed, "We'll probably hear her squeal?"

"Yup." Anny said, stiff as a board. They sat there quietly for a second before they burst out laughing, they had no idea _why_ it had been so funny, it just _was_.

He stopped out front of her house, "Thanks for the ride, Tee." Anny said with a smile, "See ya tomorrow." She said, slipping out of the pick-up and striding up to her house, Tee opened his mouth and reached out, but she was already gone.

So much for asking if she wanted to grab a bite together before they got to the studio tomorrow.

Tee closed it and pulled it into reverse, noticing Anny wave before closing the door behind her. Tee smiled a bit, then freaked out when he tried to drive forward and realized he was still in reverse and jerked backwards.

'At least Anny didn't see that.' He thought as he pulled himself out of reverse. His phone buzzed, he glanced at it, he got a text… From Anny?

He quickly flipped open his phone and read the text:

'Ha Ha Ha! Nice driving dumbass!' she had written.

Tee leaned back in his seat, groaning, he opened his eyes and noticed her peaking from the window, laughing, only to see he had seen her and let the curtain fall back into place.

He smirked and typed back, 'Aww. Did you miss me already?' he sent it.

His phone buzzed, 'look at the window' He read, he leaned back again and looked at the window to see Anny smile and flip him off. He smiled, then texted, 'Yeah, you missed me.' He sent it and drove home, his phone buzzed on the way, but he didn't check the message until he actually parked the car near the trailer and was walking up the steps. 'You wish.'

He typed, 'Yeah. I do.' He looked at it for a second, "I can't send that." But instead of hitting the backspace button he pressed send. He stood on his front porch, gritting his teeth,

"Fuck."

.

.

.

The next morning, Anny yawned as she drove An and Double-N to school.

"Anny, if you're tired, I could drive." Double-N offered.

"I'm fine." Anny said with another yawn, waving her off, "Don't worry about it."

"You must have finished late, Anny." An said, yawning as well.

Not really. Anny and Tee had come home at a decent enough time. What kept Anny up was the text she got back from Tee. She looked at her phone from the corner of her eye then looked back at the road, pink in the face. After his smart ass text suggesting that she missed him, she typed back a smart ass, 'you wish' but instead of getting another smart ass text back, she got one that kept her up for _hours_.

'Yeah. I do.'

Three fucking words keep her up until two in the morning, so she only got four and a half hours of sleep. She rubbed her eyes, why would he send _that_? Her face began to burn.

"Anny? Are you alright?" Double-N asked.

"Fan-fucking-tastic." Anny grumbled.

"Does this have something to do with Tee?" Double-N asked. Anny was too tired to lie or ask how she knew and said, "Yeah."

An began jumping up in down in the back, "Are you two going on a date too?"

Anny woke up, "WHAT?!" she turned to An, "NO!"

"ANNY! EYES ON THE ROAD!" Double-N cried. All three Ans screamed as Anny swerved around until she was back in a safe place on the road. The Ans panted, catching their breaths and trying to slow their heart rates.

"LETS DO THAT AGAIN!" An shouted, pumping her fists into the air.

"NO!" Anny and Double-N replied in unison.

After they finally calmed down, Double-N asked, "So what happened?" Double-N asked. Anny explained what happened the night before and the text that had kept her up all night.

As soon as she finished, big knowing smiles crept up her friends' faces.

"What?" Anny asked.

"You like Tee." An said, her smile continuing to grow.

"What! No I don't!" she cried, her face feeling as if it was on fire.

"It appears that you most certainly _do_, Anny." Double-N said, looking a bit proud of her.

Anny opened her mouth, then closed it, what would arguing solve? She knew that all three of them could list a million reasons on both sides and she still wouldn't know, so she just came clean.

"I have no idea, okay?" she whined, "I'm still getting used to _not hating_ him, I have no idea if I…" she couldn't even say the word 'like.' She parked in the parking lot at the high school and let her face fall onto the steering wheel. Her friends faces turned from knowing smiles to sympathetic ones.

"You'll figure it out, Anny. There's no rush." Double-N soothed.

"Yeah, everyone needs time to figure stuff out, right?" An said.

Anny smiled at her friends, "Thanks guys." She said.

.

.

.

Lunch was nerve-wracking for Double-N, she sat down with the other Ans, the Kankers hadn't shown up yet, but she still felt on edge. In six short hours she would be going on a date with Larie, she felt so nervous that she was afraid she was going to be ill. But she was determined, she was going to be fine, the date would be lovely and then…

And then what?

'That's why you're going on the date, Ann.' She told herself, 'To find out what happens next.' Her appetite was pretty much non-existent, she mainly picked at her food to try and keep her mind off of how nervous she was.

"You okay Sock head?" Anny asked her.

"You haven't eaten." An observed.

"Just a little nervous." Double-N admitted.

"A little, my ass." Anny said, "Take a few deep breaths, you'll do fine. Larie's the one who should be nervous, not you."

"Yeah!" An agreed, a big smile on her face, "You'll be great Double-N! And you'll look pretty!" Double-N blushed at that and just jabbed at her salad with her fork.

"Yeah, Larie won't know what hit 'um!" Anny said deviously, "He'll take one look and have to run home to change his underwear." Double-N looked at her funny, "Why would he need to…" her eyes widened as Anny and An laughed.

"Good Lord!" She cried, disgusted, "How is that supposed to make me feel better?" she demanded.

"Because that's probably what's going to happen!" Anny said, tears of laughter dripping down her cheeks. Double-N thought about it and stifled a chuckle, Anny was probably right, he _might_ have to change them.

"What are you three laughing at?" They turned to see the Kankers.

They stopped and looked at each other, "Nothing." They said in unison. The guys looked at each other, confused, but shrugged.

"Okay then." Tee said, all three of them sat down and the six of them enjoyed lunch like it was any other day.

"Hey, Tee?"

"Yeah Anny?" Tee asked as he took a drink from his soda.

"Why was Karen saying stuff about us having kids yesterday?" She asked. All three brothers did spit-takes, somehow all spraying Karen with soda and spit as she passed their table, "GROSS!" she shouted, "YOUR KIDS ARE GOING TO BE DISGUSTING!" she shouted before storming off to her table.

Double-N and An watched as she stormed off, then looked at Larie and Jay, confused.

"That is a good question." Double-N agreed.

"Why would she say that?" An asked.

"No idea." The brothers said in unison, swallowing down their lunches so the girls couldn't interrogate them anymore. The Ans looked at each other, they knew that it had something to do with something they must of said, but knew they would get nowhere. They all rolled their eyes and looked at each other, as if to say, '_Boys_.' Then went back to their lunches, deciding that they probably didn't want to know why Karen had said that stuff yesterday and again today.

.

.

.

Tee woke up with a pounding headache, he closed his eyes, trying to remember what the fuck happened and sat up with a groan only for him to feel large hands push him back down, "Oh no you don't!" Anny's voice snapped.

Tee's eyes immediately snapped open to see Anny over him, looking both worried and a little annoyed.

"Anny?" he asked.

"No duh." She said. He was surprised, normally she'd say something like 'no shit.'

"Your head was hit pretty hard." The big man, Percy said, handing Anny an ice pack.

"Hit with what?" he asked as Anny pressed the ice pack against his aching head.

"A sand bag, remember?" Anny reminded him, "I was helping Katie with her shoes when one of the ropes snapped, you pushed us out of the way and got smacked in the head pretty bad." Tee strained himself to remember, then it all came back to him.

He was at the studio. Anny had picked him up after school so they could do the last few touches on the stage and for the little girls' dress rehearsals.

Poor Katie's ballet shoelace snapped on stage and she had tripped, then began to cry. Percy was helping Tee lug a heavy speaker, and nearly dropped it on Tee's toes when he heard his niece cry, luckily Anny had been right there and found out what happened, she informed Percy that Katie was fine, that her shoelace had just broke and she just needed a band-aid. Percy then calmed down and helped Tee put the speaker on stage while Anny grabbed a new shoelace and a band-aid from the office and put the band-aid on the girl's skinned knee and re-laced her shoe, telling her that she was going to be okay, Tee felt his face flush a little bit seeing how motherly Anny could be. That's when Tee heard the sound of a rope snapping, he saw the sand bag begin to fall right where Anny and Katie stood, "LOOK OUT!" he had cried, pushing them out of the way before feeling something heavy hit his head, then everything had gone black.

"Yeah, now I remember." He said as his grandma led the little girls to where their teachers sat, which he discovered was one of the classrooms and that he had been laying on a mat that they used when people were learning how to do cartwheels.

"Are you okay, Mr. Tee?" they asked, looking worried.

"I'm sorry Mr. Tee." Katie said, her eyes filling with tears, "It's all my fault." Tee gave her a funny look, "What are you talking about? It's not your fault your shoelace snapped. I'm just glad everyone's okay."

"Is there anything we can do to help you feel better, Mr. Tee?" one of the other girls asked. Tee thought about it for a second, "How about you girls do a great job at your recital tomorrow? That would make me feel much better." He said. The little girls perked up, determined, "Okay!" they said. Then Gladys ushered them outside so they could go back to dancing.

"Thank you again Percy for helping. Thank goodness we had a doctor in the house when this happened." She said to the big man, Percy flushed, "I just did what I was trained to do, I'm just upset that I didn't notice the sand bag falling first."

"It's fine, Tee's a tough boy, he can handle it." Gladys said patting him on the back, "Come on, let's finish setting up the speakers and watch the girls dance." She said, leading him back to the stage.

And leaving him and Anny alone.

"Percy's a doctor?" Tee asked her.

"Yeah. And he told us that you don't have a concussion or any damage or anything, but he said you should lie down for a bit." Anny said, putting a little more pressure on his chest until he laid back down on the mat. Tee looked at her face, she looked a little scared and upset, with a bit of anger and guilt thrown in too.

"You know you could've just pulled us out of the way, you didn't need to push us!" Anny finally snapped.

"Sorry." Tee said.

"Do you know how worried we were?"

"I'm sorry."

"I _cried_ in front of those little girls, Tee, I _**cried**_. So you better be freaking sorry." She continued, her eyes glazing with tears, but she quickly wiped them away and continued to scowl at him.

"Anny, were you… _worried_ about me?" he asked, touched and amazed.

"Of course I was, stupid!" she snapped, her face red, "why wouldn't I be? I mean, you got hit in the head really hard and you weren't moving!" Tee smiled warmly.

"What are you smiling about, 'ya jerk?" she demanded.

"Just thinking that you'd definitely make a good mom." He said softly. Anny turned crimson, then said, "Oh great, you hit your head so hard now you're thinking like Karen."

"I'd have to be hit in the head a lot more times before that happens." He joked. Anny smiled despite her desire to be angry and upset with him.

"Tee, why did you take the hit for me?"

"I saved you _and_ Katie." He reminded her.

"As if I'd let that thing hit her." Anny said plainly.

"Yeah, well, the girls would have been just as upset if it had hit you instead of me, I'm a guy, I'm not gonna let a girl get hurt when I can take the hit." He said. "Especially not my girl." Anny's face was red and steaming. "Thanks, Tee." She said softly, then looked around, making sure no one was around, then looked outside the door, making sure no one was eavesdropping, then came back and gave him a kiss on his forehead, moving his hair out of the way. It was a short and small kiss, but Tee still reeled from it. She smiled and shoved his hair back over his eyes and watched as Tee turned red and steamed as well, satisfied that she had made him as embarrassed and happy as he had made her. She sat next to him and held his hand, giving him a happy smirk.

.

The three kids with the red stripes watched intently, "Aww." The girls whispered, the boy placed a finger up to his helmet, silently shushing them.

"You two are the loudest little sisters ever." He hissed, "You'll let them know we're here!" The girls winced a bit then let their heads sink into their shoulders a bit. The boy rubbed the back of his helmet, then sighed and held their hands, "I'm sorry, okay, but as much as we want to talk to them or get closer, we can't."

"But Andy!" they cried in unison, sounding upset. Their brother put his finger to where their lips would be, "I want to say hi too, but it's not over, not until their date is over we can't take any chances. We still have to be careful." The girls nodded and the three of them watched Tee and Anny holding hands, their faces red and smiling warmly.

.

.

.

Larie had never felt so nervous driving to the cul-de-sac in his entire life, his knuckles were white on the steering wheel as he slowed to a stop in front of Ann's house. He was sweating profusely, he pulled at his long sleeves and hoped that he wasn't getting pit stains on the only dress shirt he actually owned. The sad thing was that it was a hand-me-down from his dad, so it was a little baggy on him. He looked at himself in the mirror, "Get a grip!" he told himself, "You can't screw this up! This could be your one chance…" His knees were shaking, his palms were sweating, he suddenly felt this sudden urge to flee. He looked out the side window, he saw her _parents_ standing in the front window and motioning for someone near the door to move closer to them. Then her mother spotted him, she waved and indicated for her husband to look too. He saw him and nodded.

Larie smiled and waved back, "Well this isn't awkward or anything." He said through his teeth. He took a deep breath and turned off the car, his legs feeling like jell-o as he made his way up the steps to her front porch. He knocked on the door, running his hands through his hair nervously.

The front door opened and Larie froze, his head went completely blank, his eyes widened. His face was bright red, his jaw dropped, his heart was going so fast it could very well go flying out of his chest. Steam screamed out of his ears, he tried to speak, but nothing was coming out of his mouth except his silver studded tongue. His pants, which were a bit baggy when he left the car, suddenly felt _really_ tight.

"Hi Larie." She said, giving him a sweet gap-toothed smile. She wore a red dress, the top of it wrapped around the back of her neck, the back of the dress started halfway up her back, the skirt of the dress came up to her knees. She wore matching red heeled sandals, they weren't too high, but they still looked elegant. Her hair was curled and cascaded down her back and shoulders. Her make-up was light but tastefully applied. Around her neck with a silver chain, the bent stud he gave her attached to it. She held a red clutch in her hands.

He suddenly wished he took his brother's advice and brought spare underwear. He had _never_ seen this much of her,_ ever_. He wanted to see more so _bad_, but her parents were _right_ there, dammit. And he didn't want to screw up his one chance.

Ann walked up to him and carefully poked his chin and pushed his jaw back up until his mouth closed.

"Thanks." He said, his voice high and tense.

"You're quite welcome, Larie." She said, a little laughter in her voice.

"You two have fun!" her mother called.

"I want her back before midnight!" Her father said plainly, his arms crossed, trying to look imposing and authoritative. Her mother looked at him knowingly and patted his arm, then closed the door giving the two a friendly wave before the door closed all the way shut. Larie took a moment to regain his composure, and cleared his throat, "Ready to go?" he asked her, holding out his arm. Ann smiled and took it, "Of course." She said. He turned redder as he led her to the pick-up, his whole body tingling. Looking at the truck, he suddenly wishing that he had took it through the carwash instead of just driving home as fast as he could so he could get ready. He opened the door for her, "After you." He said, she nodded gratefully and hopped inside. He closed the door behind her and ran around the long way, "Hot Damn! Hot Damn! Hot Damn! Hot Damn!" he chanted as he ran to the driver's seat.

.

.

.

Selina's was a nice place, alright, and, despite it being a Friday night, it took them very little time to be seated in a nice booth in the corner. Ann still felt nervous, but Larie's reaction to her appearance had made her feel a little better. She actually found it to be very cute that he had gotten so flustered. Not that she'd tell him that, while she wasn't very experienced when it came to boys, but she knew better then to call them 'cute.' Their waiter was a wacky guy named Danny, who, once he learned that it was their first time there, recommended several dishes for them to try that sounded delicious and brought them a few drinks from other countries to sample while they waited for their order to be finished.

They chatted about what little they _did _know about the dishes.

"It can't be _that_ bad." Larie said.

"I'm telling you, wasabi is pretty pungent, Larie, I wouldn't recommend eating it plain." Ann warned.

"Okay, now I just want to do it to prove my point, are you doing some sort of reverse psychology on me?" he teased.

"Honestly, Larie, it didn't work before when we were younger, why would I try it again when I know it won't work?" she asked. "Although, I have to say, now I'm quite glad it didn't work." He turned red and steam hissed out his ears. Ann chuckled, covering her mouth. Steam stopped coming out of his ears, he looked at her, concerned.

"Hey Ann?"

"Yes?" she replied, still chuckling.

"Why do you cover your mouth when you laugh?" He asked, looking a little bothered by it. Ann stopped and looked at her hand, why _did_ she do that? She stopped, trying to recall when she started.

"I suppose I started when I was trying to hide the gap in my teeth." Ann replied, unsure, "I don't really remember when I started doing it, to be honest, I hadn't even realized that I do that until you pointed it out."

"Well, I'm not going to let you do that anymore, I want to see how cute you look when you laugh."

She felt her face burn, "Alright then, Larie, I'll hold you to that." She said. Her palms sweating into the napkin on her lap.

"Here is your food!" Danny said cheerfully, placing several plates in front of them, and smiling at them, "Enjoy!"

"Thank you." Ann said politely. Larie nodded in agreement. Danny left them to enjoy their meal.

Larie looked at the sushi sampler they had gotten and looked at the lump of green goop next to it, "I'm gonna do it." he said in a devious voice.

"I wouldn't if I were you." She chuckled, she reached up to cover her mouth, only for Larie to grab her hands with one of his, "Nice try." He said. She turned pink, both her hands were tingling, "Sorry." She said.

Larie said nothing and took a spoon with his free hand and scooped up the green stuff. Ann shook her head, smiling widely, Larie nodded his head, looking pleased with himself. He put the whole thing into his mouth. Then his face turned red and he made a choking noise, Ann slipped her hands from under his and grabbed one of the drinks and handed it to him, he gulped it down. When he finished, he breathed deeply, "Hot." He managed as Ann began to laugh, her hands grabbing him another drink, and not blocking her face. "I told you so!" she laughed as she handed it to him, but Larie just looked at her, stunned and face red.

"What?" she asked, still laughing.

"Hot Damn." He said, then tried to say something else, but he couldn't get anything else out.

"This might help" she said, handing him the drink. He drank it about half of it, "Thanks." He gasped, then looked her in the eyes and said, "Hot Damn, Ann, you're cute when you laugh." Both of them were crimson in the face as soon as he said it.

"Thank you." She finally said, smiling at him, "Um, you want to try something else now?"

"Yes." He said, "I've learned my lesson, no more wasabi." They both laughed and enjoyed their meal, trying all sorts of food and joking around.

Ann felt a little silly for being so worried, she was having a fantastic time, why had she been so worried?

"Double-N? Larie?" the two of them stopped at the voices and saw Sam and Jamie, looking at them, shocked.

"Sam? Jamie?" she replied, equally shocked. Larie was surprised as well, he also looked a little annoyed. Even though Ann was happy to see the two together, even she had to admit that this did dampen the mood a bit now that someone else they knew was here too.

'You just had to wonder why you were worried, huh?' she scolded herself.

.

.

.

Sam and Jamie had made it to Selina's at about seven thirty, mainly because it took Sam ten minutes to pull himself together after he saw Jamie's outfit. An and his mom forced him into a nice pink dress shirt and black pants. Now that he saw her outfit, he was kind of grateful that they did, if he had come in his normal clothes he would've felt like a huge jackass next to Jamie.

He made a mental note to thank all three Ans when he saw them next. Her dress was a light blue and was an off the shoulder dress, her hair was pulled back into that twisted bun that the Ans had probably taught her, her shoes were the same color as her dress, they were little pumps, they gave her a bit of a boost but nothing too extreme. She wore a slender silver bracelet on each wrist and a star pendant that he recognized as something he gave to her one Christmas a few years ago.

She had called his name several times and he had endured her jasmine perfume for five minutes before he finally snapped out of it, then he spent five minutes trying to function normally again. He had looked like a total idiot in front of her and her parents.

Her parents then drove them to the restaurant and told them to have fun and call them when they were ready to go home. They were led to a table immediately, by a friendly guy named Danny, then he and Jamie had heard familiar voices,

"Well, how is it?" That was Double-N's voice.

"Tastes like chicken." Larie replied. Sam paled, 'Shit' he had forgotten about their date being here too.

"I highly doubt that!" Double-N laughed, but she laughed differently, he had no idea how or why, but she did. Jamie heard them too, they both turned and saw Double-N and Larie, who were smiling and laughing and having a blast.

"I'm telling the truth!" Larie said, pushing the dish towards her, "Here, try it."

"Double-N? Larie?" he said, stunned. They both stopped and looked at them, both turning red.

"Sam? Jamie?" Double-N asked, confused and shocked. Their bright smiles dimmed a bit, Larie seemed kind of angry and annoyed.

"Someone you know?" Danny asked cheerfully.

"Um, yes," Jamie said, "I was also wondering if you had a ladies room…" she asked. Danny nodded, "Right this way, then I'll be back to take your gentleman to your table." Jamie nodded gratefully, "Thank you." She said as Danny led her to the bathroom. Sam waited until they were gone before he looked at Larie, "Thanks for the advice yesterday." He said, "It really helped." Larie seemed a little taken aback and nodded, "Sure, no problem." He then looked at Double-N, "And _Thank you for that._" He said, indicating Jamie. Double-N looked really confused and a little uncomfortable, "I'm afraid I don't understand what you're thanking me for, Sam."

"You picked that dress for her and you and the other Ans helped her with all that stuff and now I'm on a date with _that._" He said, he must have been really intense because Double-N scooted away from Sam, a little concerned and a little frightened, "It was no trouble, Sam. But I might recommend that you tone down your, uh, _enthusiasm_. It's a little off-putting." She said nervously.

"And _really_ creepy." Larie agreed, also scooting away from him.

"Sir?" Danny said, Sam turned, "Your table is just this way, if you'll follow me." He said, Sam nodded, then looked back at them, "Thanks again, guys, hope you guys have fun on your date!" he said cheerfully.

"You too." Double-N said, still a little uncomfortable by his intensity earlier. Sam followed Danny with a little skip in his step, he knew he would have a good date tonight. He didn't look back, he sat down and waited for Jamie, tapping his fingers on the table. Yup, any minute now. When she came back they ordered, making fun of some of the names of the dishes while they waited for Danny to come back. When he did, they dug in, surprised how good the food was, half way through their meal, both of them saw Larie lead Double-N out, both smiling.

"Does that bother you?" Jamie asked, sounding a little nervous to hear his answer.

"Not really." He said. And he meant it. "I'm having fun with you, aren't I?" her face lit up and she smiled. "You wanna dance?" he asked her, "We can waltz, all you need to do is follow my movements and you'll be fine." Jamie nodded eagerly, "How romantic!" she cried, then turned pink, "I mean… uh…"

"Jamie." He said, she looked at him sheepishly, "It's a date, you're allowed to say that kind of stuff, okay?" her smile grew even bigger, "Okay!" she said. Sam slipped out of their booth and held out his hand, "May I have this dance?" he asked politely. She giggled and said, "Why of course, good sir." She took his hand, which suddenly began to tingle, he helped out her out of the booth while the tingling feeling crawled up his chest and reached his heart. Sam smiled, he made the right choice. He smiled and talked Jamie through the waltz and enjoyed the smell of her jasmine perfume and the tingling feeling of holding her hand.

.

.

.

Larie stopped the truck, "We're here." He said, looking at her excitedly, Ann seemed a little confused, but smiled and nodded. They had parked near the Kanker's trailer then he led her into the forest a bit, making sure to go slow so she wouldn't fall or get tired, his hand tingling as it held hers.

"Where are we going?" she finally asked.

"My secret place." he said, pulling a branch aside to show her a clearing in the forest where a small lake sat and the stars were bright in the sky. Ann's jaw dropped and her lips curled into a smile, "This is beautiful, Larie." She said softly.

"Yeah, I found it after we met." He said, 'for the second time,' he thought.

"I find that hard to believe." Ann said, smirking a bit, "Since when we six first met, we met in a museum in a different town and you hadn't moved here yet." Larie's jaw dropped.

"You… you actually remembered us?" he said, feeling as he was about to cry from happiness.

"Of course we did." She said, a little insulted, "You three were the first boys we had crushes on." Larie felt as if he was going to float away he was so happy, then stopped, "So wait, how come you guys acted like you didn't remember us?"

She looked at him plainly, "Because we didn't _know_ it was you three. It had been six years, there was no way for us to know for certain that you were the three boys from the museum. And we never did get your names, so how could we know it was you three?"

"So how do you know now?"

"Remember when we looked through Gladys' album?" she asked. Larie felt his face burn, how could he forget how his grandmother had gone on and on about how adorable they were as babies and asking the girls if they enjoyed the pictures of the three of them in the bath tub together?

"I noticed the photo of you three when you were six, I thought you looked familiar so when I got home, I checked _my _album and found this." She reached into her clutch and pulled out a photo and handed it to him.

It was of all six of them, smiling and posing like the Egyptians on the wall behind them. Larie remembered them taking the picture, but he never knew what happened to it, the boys had asked a man at the museum for information, but the man had been useless. So Ann'd had the photo the whole time.

"Do An and Anny know?" he asked.

"Jay had already told An before I showed them the photo." Ann informed him, "As for Anny, she didn't really seem all that surprised at the fact that it was you three."

"So…" he said, scooting a little closer, "How do feel about that kid you met at the museum now?" he asked, slipping the photo into his pocket.

She smiled, pulled his head close and gently kissed him on the lips, his whole body feeling as if he was melting. When she finally pulled away, she said, "That he's grown up into a very sweet, intelligent, and handsome man." Larie's entire body felt as if it was on fire, steam screamed from his ears, his heart seemed to bang against his chest, as if demanding to come out. His pants felt tight, his head felt light, he felt as if he was hovering in the air, only without roasting in that helmet. "Hot damn." He managed, licking his lips. She laughed, her hands reaching up to her face, only for him to grab them and lace his fingers in hers.

"We never got a chance to dance at the restaurant because Sam and Jamie showed up." He said, "You up for it?" She nodded. They waltzed by the water's edge, laughing a bit and enjoying the silence. Then bright flashes began to appear in the sky and reflected in the water.

"I was wondering when it would start." Ann said softly.

"What is that?" Larie asked.

"A meteor shower," she said, giving him a triumphant smile, "why do you think I asked for it to be on _this_ Friday?" he smiled back, "Well aren't you a little know-it-all?" he asked her. "Perhaps." She laughed.

He gave her a soft kiss on the lips, and to his delight he felt her kiss back.

.

The four kids with the blue stripe watched as Larie and Ann kissed from behind some shrubs on the other side of the lake.

"Ewww!" the boys cried out in unison.

"Shhh!" the older one shushed, "This is _supposed_ to happen."

"But it's gross!" they said, still in unison.

The little girl nudged them, then went back to looking at the kissing teens across the small lake, not saying a single word. The boys looked at their sister, then to their brother, "Allbert?" they said in unison, "Does this mean we're okay now?"

The eldest nodded, "It would seem so."

"Not so fast, All." A voice came in through their helmets, "Sheldon just told us that some chick's been bad mouthing us."

"How is that even possible, Andy? We…"

"Yeah, I _know_. But you know the rules."

The eldest sighed, "Fine, but if we get in trouble later…"

"I know, Sock-head, I know, now you four need to get back to the cul-de-sac, it's time for a _little_ refresher course." The eldest sighed and motioned for his siblings, "Come on let's go."

"Five more minutes!" the little girl pleaded. The eldest scooped her up and said, "Sorry, but you know how Andy gets." He said. And they blasted off, the glow from their rockets hidden in the brush.

.

.

.

Anny dropped Tee off at the trailer, "If your head hurts, let me know, I'll cover for you at the recital tomorrow." She said. Tee shook his head, "I'm good, Anny, but thanks." He gave her a comforting smile. She gave him a look that said, 'You're probably full of shit right now, but I'm letting it slide tonight.'

"Night Tee." She said, driving back to the cul-de-sac.

"Bye Anny." He said, giving her a small wave as she left before heading inside.

Larie was sighing happily on the couch, Jay was beside him, also looking pretty pleased.

"Okay, how did your dates go?" Jay looked at Larie beside him, but noticed that the guy was pretty much out of it, so he went first.

"An came over and watched movies, but yesterday, when I went over for dinner, she gave me a hug and I felt her heart beat."

"So?"

"So when I told her that I felt it, she said she could feel mine too, she said it had bothered her that she couldn't feel mine but that she had found a solution. And it was _to take off her bra_."

Larie heard that and was snapped out of his daze, "Seriously?"

"Yeah. I was pretty happy when I first found out, but she did it again today too." He said, a big goofy grin on his face, "I may not go to second base for a while, but at least I got her bra off."

"Yeah, only one more layer to go till you get there." Larie teased.

"And what about you, Larie?" Tee asked, "How'd your date go?"

Larie smiled proudly, "Well, I went to her house and as soon as I saw her all I could think was 'Hot Damn, if only her parents weren't _right there._' We ate all sorts of weird food and flirted, it was great until Sam and Jamie showed up, which made it a little awkward that someone we knew was there on a date too."

Tee and Jay said nothing, only nodding.

"Then he thanked me for telling him how I knew Double-N was the one, and he thanked Double-N in a creepy way for helping her pick out an outfit. That's when we kind of left. Then we went to my spot." He smirked, "Apparently Double-N picked the day of our date so it would coincide with a meteor shower. We danced, we made out, I took her home." Then the biggest smile imaginable spread across his face, "And as of this night, Ann, aka Double-N, is _my_ girlfriend." He said proudly, "At least that's what she told her dad when he started growling at me when he caught me getting a good-night kiss from her on their front porch."

His brothers clapped for him.

"But that's not all, guys!" Larie said, pulling a photo out of his pockets, "It turns out they never forgot about us at all," he said, showing them a photo of all six of them mimicking the Egyptians in the mural behind them, "Ann told me that we were the first boys they had crushes on. And the only reason they didn't seem to remember us when we finally found them again is, well, because they didn't know it was _us_, I mean, we never told them our names back then and it _had_ been six years. She also said she figured it out a little while ago," he looked at Jay, "Apparently Jay already told An." Tee looked at him, shocked.

Jay smiled sheepishly, "It was the first time we made out, it just sorta slipped out."

"Anyway, Anny apparently _wasn't all that surprised_, Tee." Larie told him, "You've_ got_ her, all you need to do is reel her in." Tee flushed as he remembered Anny kissing his forehead back at the studio, he put his hand on his forehead, "So that's why she kissed me there."

"What?" his brothers asked, eager to hear more.

"Anny _kissed_ you?" Larie asked.

"When?" Jay asked.

"Yeah, she did it at the Dance contest after I told her off for running away from her sister on the lips and she did it tonight after I pushed her and one of the little girls out of the way of a falling sandbag on my forehead."

His brothers looked concerned all of a sudden, "You okay?"

"Yeah, it's just a little bump, I'm fine. It turns out Percy's a doctor, so I was in good hands."

"Wait, wait, wait," Larie said, smiling, "So that big buff guy is Dr. Percy?"

"Nope, he's Dr. Percy Feeble." Tee said with a grin. It was quiet for a second then Tee and Larie laughed while Jay looked confused, he opened his mouth to speak but Larie explained "Feeble means weak, Jay" then went back to laughing

"Oh!" he said, then started to laugh with his brothers.

.

.

.

Karen woke up at three in the morning, suddenly thirsty, she rubbed her eyes and grumbled as she rolled out of bed. She clomped down the stairs, not caring if she made any noise since her parents were out of town anyway. When she finally made it into the kitchen, she braced herself as she turned on the light, only to see three boys standing in her kitchen.

They looked as if someone had taken the Kankers and the Ans, stuck them into a blender and poured out these three.

The tallest one wore a gray t-shirt, a green striped jacket and jeans. He had blonde hair and buck teeth, his ears were round and so was his chin, he had freckles, just like Jay. But he had a long thick neck, and flatish head, his smile was similar to An's (except for the buck teeth) and it smelled like he never heard of soap before.

The middle one wore a black shirt and green pants and a hat like Double-N's. He had blue hair, freckles and almond shaped eyes, his smirk was the same terrifying one that Larie would get whenever Karen would pick on Double-N. Only this boy's smirk revealed a gap between his two front teeth, his face was a rounded pentagon shape, Like Double-N's. His hair was long and in a ponytail low on his head.

The shortest one wore a yellow shirt with a purple collar and a red stripe down one side and jeans. He had red hair that hung half way over his beautiful blue eyes, Tee's eyes. But the rest of this kid was all Anny, well, except the blue tooth on one side and the freckles.

"Hello Karen." The short one said, he sounded like a male version of Anny.

She rubbed her eyes in disbelief, "What the…" she fell backwards, terrified.

"We heard you were making fun of us." The tall one frowned, he sounded like An, only a little different because of the buck teeth and him being a boy.

"We detest it when others insult our family, especially when we haven't even been born yet." The one in the middle said curtly. He sounded like male Double-N, especially since he _talked_ like Double-N too.

"But where are our manners?" The middle one said.

"I'm Andy Tee Kanker." The short kid said.

"I'm Allbert Larie Kanker, that's Allbert with two Ls." The middle one said.

"I'm Sheldon Jay Kanker." The tallest one said, then pointed behind her, "That's my big sister, April."

Karen looked behind her and saw a girl that looked like Jay, only with red hair, and glasses, she wore a red striped shirt and red shorts. "April Gladys Kanker." She said menacingly.

"And then there are my sisters," Andy said, "Mia and Tia." Two girls came into the light from both sides, they looked like girl versions of Tee, only with long pink hair that was swept out of their beautiful blue eyes, their smirk was like Anny's though. They wore red polka dot dresses with purple belts.

"Mia An Kanker, that's An with one n." the one on her left said.

"Tia Ann Kanker, with two ns." the one on her right informed her. Karen scrambled back into the kitchen.

"And allow me to introduce my siblings," Allbert said, "I'll start with my brothers, Lawrence and Terrance." Karen turned to see two young boys, smiling deviously at her, they looked like Allbert only their faces were rounder, they wore red shirts and purple shorts, their hair was long and shaggy, but it was closer to Larie's hair length, they too, had gaps between their two front teeth as well as freckles.

"I prefer Larry." The one on the left side clarified, "Larry Gerald Kanker."

"And I prefer Terry," The one on the right said, "Terry Harold Kanker."

A little girl flew down from the ceiling only to stop at Karen's eye level, smiling, she hung from a toy gun with what looked like silly string coming out of it and sticking to the ceiling, she wore a black shirt under a purple dress, she looked like the twin boys beside her, only her hair was longer, she also had a gap in her tiny two front teeth and freckles. "I'm Spider-Girl." She said gleefully.

"That's Mildred." Everyone said. "Anny Kanker." Allbert finished, "And I'm sorry you can't meet our other sister, Emma Barbra Kanker, but she's only an infant, so I hope you understand."

Karen was shaking hysterically, "W-what do you want with me? W-why are you telling me this?"

"Did you know the Kanker family has a code?" Andy asked her.

"A code?" Karen asked, her mind reeling.

"Our dads told you it when they first moved here." Sheldon said.

Karen remembered it clearly, "But that was only about the Ans!" she cried.

"The code does not simply stop at our mothers." Allbert informed her, "It refers to our entire family."

"Do you remember what they said about talking badly about us?" Andy asked.

Karen's eyes widened, "They'd beat us to a pulp." She said softly, fear rising in her throat.

"YEAH!" Sheldon said with a dopey grin similar to An's.

"Yeah, only in this case, instead of our dads beating you up, it'll be us." Andy said, a huge grin on his face.

Karen cowered by the back wall as the shadows of all nine Kanker children in attendance towered over her as they laughed darkly.

.

.

.

Anny covered her head with her pillow, Karen had been screaming random shit for _hours_. She had finally had enough, she threw off her covers, revealing her pajamas. A pink low-rise tank top and pink and yellow flannel pants. She stomped out of her room, and saw that her parents were also out stomping out of the house, in their pajamas, looking pretty pissed off. She looked around, everyone else and their parents were out too. Anny saw An and Double-N, both looking pissed off and tired. An wore a white tank-top and green sleep shorts, she moved her glasses a bit so she could rub her eyes, she wore socks on her feet but no shoes and Double-N wore a lavender nightgown and a matching night cap, her hair was still curly from her date.

"That bitch better have a good reason for waking us." Anny growled.

"Yeah." An yawned.

"Indeed." Double-N agreed.

"Loud-Mouth-Karen girl is going to receive a Three Shoe Beating for keeping the Daughter of a Shepherd up into the wee hours of dawn!" Rachel cried.

"Yeah." Jenny groaned, rubbing her eyes, "It's too early for this."

"What's her problem!" Sam demanded.

"Why can't she just be quiet?" Jamie whined. The parents, along with Rachel's grandparents, were all meeting up to figure out where the hell Karen's parents were so they could complain or get in some how. The Kankers' pick up pulled up, the four of them piled out, "Who the fuck is screaming?" Mr. Kanker demanded, looking _pissed_. The Ans were a little shocked, they had _never_ seen the Kankers' dad before. He had red hair like Tee and his face was like Larie's. He was a strong looking guy, but he also looked out of shape, he had a bit of a beer belly and he wore a stained gray tank that was probably white at one point (Like Jay's shirts) and his boxers. After taking in about ten seconds of his appearance, they looked away, they had seen enough. They glanced over at the Kankers.

Jay wasn't wearing a shirt, revealing his toned surfer's chest ( Author: unlike when he was staying with An for the parenting class thing, he only wore a shirt so her dad wouldn't kill him, thinking that he was trying to get An into bed. So, yeah normally he sleeps shirtless.)He simply wore his gray jacket (unzipped) and red sleep pants, his long blonde hair was down to his shoulders, he smiled and waved to An, she flushed. She had no idea her boyfriend was that _toned._ She waved nervously back.

Tee, to Anny's surprise, didn't wear a shirt to bed either, just red and white flannel pants, revealing that he not only did he have a six pack, but that he was very fit and muscular, she felt her face burn, it wasn't enough to just have those gorgeous eyes, but he also had a hot body. Luckily he wore a coat to block it a bit or Anny'd probably melt. Anny suddenly felt self conscious of her own appearance.

Double-N had it the worst, Larie slept shirtless too, only instead of pajama pants like his brothers, he apparently slept in only his boxers, he wore his normal jacket to stay warm, but it was open. Revealing that he had a strong fighter's body and even a few scars. Her face was red and steaming. Larie looked at her reaction then looked down and cursed himself, he had barely had Double-N as his girlfriend for a few hours and he was already showing her what he looked like half naked. Although he was actually fine with exposing himself to her, he knew that to a girl as modest as Double-N, the sight was probably overwhelming just after their first date.

All three of the Ans mothers look at their daughter's reactions to the boys, then the boys themselves, and looked at each other, nodding approvingly. Their fathers looked at Mr. Kanker and stood between him and their wives, defensive. Mr. Kanker had hit on the An's moms on more then one occasion, so their fathers were not fond of the man.

The Kankers walked over to the Ans, then it was the boys turns to look at them and get flustered by them in their pajamas.

"So you could hear her screaming all the way over there?" An asked.

"Yeah." Jay said simply.

"THE AN'S KIDS ARE CRAZY!" Karen shouted from inside the house.

"She's still on about that?" Tee groaned.

"Apparently." Larie said.

"I don't know about you all, but I'm quite tired of her shenanigans." Double-N said.

"Right on, Sock head." Anny agreed, "I say we give her a piece of our minds." An nodded in agreement and the three of them walked up to Karen's front door and banged on it in unison. The Kankers followed them to the front porch, smiles growing on their faces, chuckling as the girls began to scold Karen for waking them up and keeping them up.

"KAREN! SHUT UP ALREADY!" Anny shouted at the door.

"WE'VE HAD ENOUGH OF THIS NONSENSE!" Double-N agreed.

"BE QUIET!" An screamed.

Karen's door opened and the terrified girl poked her head out, "Ans?" she said, sounding shaken. The girls suddenly looked concerned.

"What the fuck is going on in there?" Anny asked.

"Uh, nothing! I just, uh, saw a spider."

"Really? A spider? For three hours?" Double-N asked.

"There were lots of them." Karen said quickly.

"Yeah right." An said. The Kankers joined the Ans on the steps, looking peeved off.

"You don't seriously expect us to believe that, do you?" Tee asked.

"It's true!"

"Uh huh, because seeing lots of spiders makes it _okay_ to scream and keep everyone up for hours." Larie snapped.

"They were big spiders."

"Go to bed, Karen." Jay said plainly.

Karen glanced back inside for a second as the six of them began to walk away, then said, "Wait!" they looked back at her, annoyed, "What?" they asked in unison.

"Your kids are in here!" she said quickly, "And they're going to kill me!"

"Are you serious right now?" Anny demanded, "You're still on that stupid future kids thing? You know what? _Fine_!" she shoved the door open and called into the house, "HEY! IF ANY OF MY FUTURE KIDS ARE IN HERE, LISTEN UP! FIRST, EVERYONE'S TIRED, SO PLEASE MAKE KAREN SHUT UP!"

Karen motioned for Anny to stop talking, but she continued.

"SECONDLY, IF YOU DON'T TIE KAREN'S HAIR TO THE BANISTER AND FLIP HER OVER TO THE STAIRS, YOU'RE GROUNDED!" Tee started laughing.

Double-N came up next, "IF ANY OF MY FUTURE KIDS ARE IN THERE, PLEASE SHOW HER WHAT _REALLY _HAPPENS WHEN SHE'S SURROUNDED BY MULTIPLE LARGE SPIDERS OR NO DESSERT!" Larie began to crack up.

An trotted up cheerfully next, "HI FUTURE KIDS! GIVE HER A SPANKING THAT SHE WON'T SOON FORGET OR NO TV FOR A WEEK!" An then looked back at Jay, "Do you think that I was too harsh?" she asked. Jay smiled at her and shook his head, "I'm sure they want her to shut up just as much as the rest of us, An."

"No doubt." Tee said.

"Yeah, have fun 'playing' with our kids, Karen." Larie snickered. Then everyone walked back home, the Kanker brothers reeled in their Dad from hitting on the An's moms and pissing their dads off and drove back to the trailer park. Each of the Ans' moms put their arms around their daughter's shoulders.

"You did really good An." An's mom said.

"I did?" An said, confused.

"You definitely have a keeper in Jay." An gave her mom a huge smile, "Thanks mom!"

"Ann, you seemed to have gotten a very nice young man as a boyfriend." Double-N's mother informed her, Double-N blushed, "Thank you, Mother."

"So _that's_ why you go to that studio so much." Anny's mom teased.

"Mom!" Anny cried, embarrassed.

.

As everyone else emptied the cul-de-sac to go to bed, Karen slowly turned around and looked into her dark house.

"You wouldn't…" she begged.

"We would." Andy said, "After all, we wouldn't want to get grounded."

"Nor would we want to miss out on dessert," Allbert informed her.

"NO TV IS BAD FOR US!" Sheldon cried.

"Mildred, if you would." Allbert asked.

"I'm Spider-Girl!" Mildred said cheerfully as a glob of spider silk wrapped around Karen's mouth, she was then yanked back into by the young Kankers, who slammed the door as she came back in, laughing.

.

The next day, after the Dance recital, all three Kankers and Ans drove back to the cul-de-sac in the Retro Van, Anny driving with Tee in the passenger's seat and the two couples in back. As they all hopped out, they saw a white van outside Karen's house.

"I wonder what's going on?" Jay asked, his arm around An's shoulders.

"Maybe we should go over and find out." Larie suggested, holding Double-N's hand.

"Well what are we waiting for, an invitation?" Tee asked, "Let's go already!" He said, then walked over, Anny right behind him. When they got to Karen's front yard, they watched as several men in white uniforms carried a half bald Karen out of her house, bend over like she was sitting and covered in cobwebs, as soon as she saw the six of them she started shouting, "STAY AWAY! YOUR CHILDREN ARE EVIL! EVIL!" she began to sob as she was loaded up into the truck and drove to the nearest mental hospital.

"She's still on that shit?" Anny asked.

"That's pathetic." An said plainly.

Double-N glanced inside the house and her eyes widened, "Um, guys, I think you should see this." She said, pointing inside the house. The six of them entered to see red hair tied to the banister and spider webs all over the house. But that wasn't all, on the walls, someone had spray painted "WE'RE NOT WEIRDOS!" And "WE'RE NOT DISGUSTING!" in red, yellow and blue. Then, in red they wrote, "WE'RE NOT JERKS!" In blue they wrote, "WE'RE NOT NERDS!" and in yellow they wrote, "WE'RE NOT IDIOTS!"

"Whoa." Anny said.

"This is truly bizarre." Double-N said.

"I'm not allowed to draw on the walls at my house, guys." An said.

The Kanker brothers looked at each other, eyes wide.

"Do you think…?" Jay asked softly.

"No way!" Tee whispered, "it's impossible!"

Larie noticed a scrap of paper on the floor, "Hey guys, look at this." He held it up to Tee and Jay.

In red it said, 'Keep it up, Dad! You'll get Mom soon, just keep going!'

In blue it said, 'Congratulations on your recent success with Mother, Father, keep up the good work!'

And in a yellow-green color (because yellow is hard to spot on white paper) it simply said, 'HI DAD! TELL MOM WE SAID HI!'

The brothers looked at each other, then the paper, then around the room, then at the Ans, then back at each other, smiling. "Our future children are going to be awesome!" They whispered in unison, then high fived.

.

.

.

(Epilogue)

(Author's note: Cause this story wasn't long enough already)

All nine Kanker children flashed back into their own time into a small room.

April and Sheldon ran out first, "DAD!" they cried as they tackled a tall man who looked like a surfer, wrapping their arms around him in a big hug. He wore a black sweater and long red pants, his long blonde hair was pulled back into a long ponytail, stray dark blonde hairs poked out from his jaw. He smiled at the kids, revealing buck teeth, "Hey guys!"Jay greeted as he pulled his children close, "You did great!" They beamed in his arms, pleased that they had done a great job and snuggled up their dad.

Mildred, Larry and Terry dashed out, with Allbert strolling behind them, "Father!" the younger ones cheered as they hugged a rough looking man's legs. The man wore an open white lab coat over a black t-shirt and blue jeans, his shaggy blue hair was pulled back into short ponytail, his bangs covering his left eye, blue stubble covered the lower half of his face. He held an infant in his arms that squealed with glee at the sight of the others and babbled as she reached for them. He bent down and pulled the little ones close to their infant sister, a proud smile on his face. He looked up at Allbert, "Mission Accomplished, huh, All?" Larie asked. "Indeed, Father." Allbert said with a nod. Larie pulling his eldest to join his siblings in a big hug, "Aw! Come here, buddy." The five of them smiled widely as their father hugged them tight.

Andy, Mia and Tia hopped out and speed towards an athletic man. "Dad!" they shouted as they leapt into his arms. The man wore a red spotted vest, the arm holes torn, over a white tank and jeans. His red hair spiked out in the back, but was in a tight curl in the front, revealing soft, kind blue eyes. He caught them before they hit the ground. "Hiya kids." Tee said with a smile, "Great job with Sam, and Karen for that matter. We're all very proud of you." he said. Andy, Mia and Tia's eyes widened and large smiles popped up on their faces as they hugged their dad tight.

Suddenly they all heard a door open.

"Where is everyone?" Anny asked from upstairs.

"Their cars are still here, Anny, so we can assume they're somewhere around here." Ann informed her.

"WE'RE HOME!" An cried.

The kids looked at each other and raced up the stairs shouting, "MOM! MOM!" Emma in Allbert's arms to meet her mother with her siblings.

The Kanker men smile at their children's fleeing forms as they run to reach their mothers.

"Well, we were right," Tee said, "Our kids are _definitely_ awesome." Jay and Larie nod proudly. Then a loud crashing sound is heard from above, the men wince at the sound and look up at the ceiling.

"JAY!" An cried, sounding worried.

"I'm coming, An!" he called, racing up the stairs.

"Ha! It was his kids this time." Larie chuckled.

"You know what happens whenever one of us says that..." Tee said, a knowing smile on his face.

"LARIE, SOME ASSISTANCE PLEASE!" Ann cried, sounding nervous.

"Coming, Muffin!" He said, dashing up the stairs.

Tee shook his head, "I told him so."

"TEE! A LITTLE HELP HERE!" Anny shouted, a bit pissed off that he didn't come up with his brothers.

"Alright, I'm coming, Anny!" Tee shouted back, smiling as he hopped up the steps.


	5. An, Ann 'n Anny's Halloween Special

The Ans, Kankers, Karen, Nate, Rachel, Jenny and a tall lanky boy with dirty blonde hair standing up tall on his head are all standing in a corner of Rachel's field in the dark of the night, staring down into a hole. The boys are all holding shovels and look tired from digging. An walks forward with a large box and puts it into the hole. They all look down at it, solemnly.

_Everyone else had burned their costumes in a huge bonfire behind the school after what happened that night._

_Everyone else swore to never speak of it again and act as if it never happened._

_They swore only to protect themselves from ever recalling the horror of that night._

_We didn't._

_We knew better._

_We burned bags of old leaves in place of our costumes._

_We knew we could never pretend as if it had never happened._

_Mainly because we're the only people who knew the whole story._

_I'm Jay Kanker and this is what happened that Halloween night at Peach Creek High._

_So quiet down and listen close…_

_It's going to sound a little crazy, but this whole thing, for us (The Ans and Kankers) at least, all started with a box._

_I guess I should back up and tell you how I found that box first, huh?_

_Well, it all started last week…_

_._

-Sunday before Halloween-

.

An and Jay are in her bedroom in the basement. Jay looks nervous and keeps looking back at her door. An is searching for something, digging through various piles in her room.

"Uh, An, I don't think I'm allowed down here." Jay tells her nervously, holding out his hands in exasperation. It had been two months since Jay and An took that parenting class, but her father remained firm on the whole 'No Jay down in An's room unless she's in danger down there' thing. Mr. Kanker hitting on An's mom on occasion probably didn't help her father feel any better about having a one of his sons dating his daughter. Her mother and brother adored Jay and were always friendly and happy to see him, her father would be civil, but they all (minus An) knew that An's dad could just as easily snap Jay's neck as he could pat him on the back if he had an inkling that Jay was hoping to get some. Jay hoped to get some _one day_, but he knew what could happen and would only ever make a move when she was ready… or when they got married. Jay smiled at the thought of him being married to his girlfriend, his cheeks pink and eyes were glazed over with glee.

An dug through a pile of clothing and tossed a bunch of her clothes everywhere, accidently tossing one of her bras into his open hand. He turned pink and tossed it onto the floor, flustered.

"An, your dad will _kill_ me if he finds me down here!" Jay said, flustered and scared.

An runs into another pile and tosses more things into the air, this time a pair of her underpants land on his head. He turns red and throws it onto the ground, nervous.

"An!" She looks over at him, he walks toward her, "An, I'm not allowed down here, remember? Your dad was pretty clear about…" Jay tripped over something and fell flat onto his face.

"JAY!" An cried, rushing over to him, "Are you okay?" she asked, helping him up.

"Yeah…" he said, lifting his head, a box stuck in his face. An pulled it off and looked at it while Jay wobbled in pain. An smiled as she looked at the box, Jay shook off the pain and looked at his girlfriend who looked from the box to him then back to the box, then back at him, her smile getting bigger and bigger with each time she looked from one to another.

"An?" he said, getting a little worried about his girlfriend, "Are you okay?"

She leapt into his arms, knocking him backwards onto the floor, dropping the box onto the ground, "YOU'RE THE BEST BOYFRIEND EVER!" she shouted, then covers him in kisses, much to his surprise and glee.

The box falls onto the ground, moving the lid, which has the words 'Caution! Do not Open Ever!' and a tentacle flops out from inside the box along with a slip of paper that says:

_**lolzwaitwhat presents:**_

_**An, Ann 'n Anny's**_

_**Freaky, Deeky, Weird and Creepy Halloween Special!**_

Then An's shirt flops over the box, tentacle, and the slip of paper. Then her bra lands on top, followed by Jay's jacket and shirt, getting a surprised "Mm!" from Jay.

Then An's bedroom door opens.

"Hey, An, Mom says dinner's…" Sam stops halfway through his sentence and sees them. His mouth distorts into a horrified expression, his eyes twitch and he slams the door, running up the stairs, tripping over the third step, which needed repair, then began running on all fours to get out of the basement and away from the two lover birds, screaming, "OH GOD! I CAN NEVER UNSEE THAT! OH MY GOD! MY EYES CAN NEVER UNSEE THAT!"

An scowls at the door and shouts up to her brother, "KNOCK NEXT TIME!" then smiles back down at Jay and continues to kiss her overjoyed boyfriend.

.

.

.

Larie was helping Tee with his math homework at their kitchen table.

"So the answer is x= -3?" Tee said, looking at his work, confused.

"Yeah, and to think, it only took you _half an hour_ to figure that out." Larie smirked.

Tee looked at him, annoyed, "Why couldn't you just let Double-N teach me?"

"Well, it's partially because the pick up is busted so I can't pick her up and she can't use the van because Anny's borrowing it to go to a doctor's appointment today… but mainly it's because I find your struggle to understand simple math problems amusing." Larie chuckled. Tee stared at his brother, "First of all, before Double-N even started helping you in math, you sucked worse at it then me or Jay, so don't get cocky. Second of all, what the fuck does she see in you?"

"She said I'm a very sweet, intelligent and handsome man." Larie said dreamily, a smile curling up his face, still reeling at the fact that he now had Double-N as his girlfriend, even though they had now been together for two weeks. Tee looked at him, disturbed, "How the fuck you manage to trick her into thinking that?" he asked, unsure if he wanted to know the answer to that question.

"I didn't trick her into anything, dumbass." Larie snapped, then pointed to the next problem, "Now try this one, but do it like I told you to instead of fucking around for twenty minutes." Tee stuck his tongue out at his brother, but he did as he was told. Ten minutes later he got the right answer.

"Well, whadda 'ya know?" Tee said, then looked at Larie, "Okay, she might have gotten the smart part right, but how the fuck are you sweet, handsome, and a man?"

Larie opened his mouth for a cutting reply when Jay opened the door, a smile so big on his face that it curled on both ends, his face pink, his eyes glazed over with joy. Larie looked at Jay and asked, "What the fuck are you so happy about?" as Jay hovered over to the couch to finally sink into it with a happy sigh.

"I got to second base." He said dreamily. His brothers looked at one another and launched themselves out of their chairs and into the couch beside him.

"When did this happen?" Tee asked.

"Today." Jay said happily. Larie grabbed him by his jacket and shook him, "DETAILS MAN, DETAILS!" he shouted. Jay's smile only grew, "She dragged me down into her room and started looking for something, I was trying to remind her that her dad didn't want me down there with her unless I was trying to save her in an emergency. She wasn't really listening, though, so I walked closer and tried to tell her that her dad _really_ wouldn't want me down there when I tripped and hit my face on this box."

"You okay?" Tee asked.

"What the fuck do you think?" Larie said, indicating Jay's enormous smile and his pink face. Tee scowled at his brother.

"Yeah, An went to help me when she found what she was looking for, apparently it was the box I hit my face on. She got really happy. The next thing I know she shouts that I'm the best boyfriend ever and starts kissing me." Jay's smile got bigger, "Then she took off her shirt. Then her bra. Then my jacket and shirt."

"WOO!" Larie hooted, slapping his brother on the shoulder, "WAY TO GO, JAY!"

"Then Sam opened the door to call her for dinner." Jay continued.

Larie and Tee looked at each other, stunned, "What?" they asked in unison.

"Did he see…?" Tee asked. Jay nodded, "He ran off screaming and An told him to knock next time and went back to kissing me." Jay went on to explain. "Then I got to second base." He finished, glowing with joy and pride. "Best. Night. Ever."

"Wait, what was she even looking for?" Tee asked.

"Who cares?" Larie said, patting Jay on the back, "Our little brother got to second base tonight! I say we celebrate!" He cried, pulling his brothers close, "We're getting closer to making those girls our wives everyday now!" Larie said proudly, "I mean, we got a fucking note from our future children!" he said excitedly, pointing upstairs where the note had been slipped into an album the boys started once they moved to Peach Creek of them and their girls. (They made it for their future children, so it seemed like a fitting place to put it.) "So we know we're all going to get them eventually!" Larie cried. Jay nodded vigorously. Tee smiled and nodded as well, but still couldn't help worrying about what had been in that box.

.

.

.

The next day, An was bouncing in the back of the van, only with more enthusiasm then she normally did, making the whole van bounce along with her.

"An!" Double-N cried from the driver's seat, as they pulled up to the Kanker's trailer, "Stop that this instant!" she said. An looked up at her friends from the backseat, a huge grin on her face and her tongue lolling out of her mouth, still bouncing.

"Yeah, An, just because we're picking up both your boyfriend and Sock-head's boyfriend along with Tee this week, doesn't mean you can bounce us so much that the van breaks too." Anny said. Double-N blushed, she was still getting used to Larie being her boyfriend, but she wasn't the only one who had to get used to it.

Apparently as soon as their relationship was known to the rest of the school, the Ans and Kankers learned that Larie and Sam had not been Double-N's only admirers. Apparently many of the chess club, the science club, the mathletes, and other members of all the nerdy clubs at school had found Double-N to be _very_ appealing, so hearing that she was now going out with a _Kanker_ was upsetting to say the least. They had actually challenged Larie to a battle of wits, knowing that they wouldn't stand a chance against him in a physical fight.

They had no idea that Larie had been getting private tutoring from Double-N for over a month at that point, so they soon found themselves overtaken by his vast knowledge and quickly surrendered.

Although, they sworn vengeance against Larie and Double-N, as well as the other Kankers and Ans before scurrying away into the school's basement to do... _whatever_ they were doing down there.

The brothers left the trailer, telling their dad that they were leaving before closing the door behind them. They saw the van and smiled widely, Jay made a mad dash to the back, where he flung the doors open and An yanked him inside and pulled him close to cuddle with him, much to his glee.

Tee knocked on the driver's side door, Double-N arched an eyebrow and lowered the window, "I can drive this morning, Double-N." he offered. Larie popped his head from behind his brother's, smiling eagerly at his girlfriend as he waved at her. Double-N flushed and nodded, "Thank you, Tee, I think I might take you up on that kind offer." She said, rolling the window back up, unbuckling her seatbelt and opening the door to hop out. She slid against the van's side so Tee could hop in the driver's seat. Larie put his arm around her shoulder as he passed his brother and led his girlfriend towards the back of the van. Tee closed the driver's door and looked at Anny as he buckled up, "Morning." He said with a smile.

"Hey." She replied with a small smile as Larie and Double-N hopped onto the mattress in the back and closed the door. Tee started the van and drove them out of the trailer park and towards the school.

An and Jay were making out on the mattress in the back, their arms wrapped around each other and their tongues twirling around in their mouths. Although all of them were happy that the two were such a sweet, happy couple, they didn't really look at the two of them whenever they made out, it was kind of gross…

Okay, it was completely and utterly _disgusting_, but they were happy and that was what was important.

Double-N and Larie sat side by side, leaning towards each other, listening to Larie's iPod, a single ear bud in their ears, their fingers intertwined in between them. They spoke in soft tones, laughing on occasion before, they too, started kissing and holding each other.

"So how's your dad getting to work?" Anny asked Tee, trying to drown out the sounds of her friends making out with his brothers coming from the back. He seemed startled by her question, then quickly relaxed, "His car still works, it's ours that's busted. We're going to work on it when we get home." Tee explained.

"You guys still need a ride back?" Anny asked. Tee nodded, "Yeah, I was going to ask Double-N if she wouldn't mind helping us fix it after school, but Larie told me she volunteers on Monday afternoons at the hospital in the kids ward."

Anny nodded, "Yeah, after we drop you guys off, we'll head home, then Sock head will take it to the hospital, so if you need a ride somewhere, call her."

"I don't have her number." Tee said.

"Larie does." Anny said, then saw how he seemed kind of sad by that answer, she sighed, "But knowing him, he'll just start chatting with her instead of telling her you need a ride… so…" she looked out her window, "You can text me or something and I'll make sure Sock-head knows you need a ride." She finished quickly.

Tee smiled and looked over at her, "Thanks, Anny." He said softly. Anny stiffened a bit, then nodded, her face pink.

In the back, An pulled away from Jay for a moment, "You excited for the Halloween party at school this Saturday?" she asked him.

"Yeah!" he cheered, then he slumped over a bit, "I still haven't thought of anything good for my costume though." He said sadly. An smiled widely and pulled a stained sketchbook from her backpack and showed it to him, "I have lots of ideas!" she told him excitedly, "We can look and see if there's a costume for you in here!" she said, bouncing a bit.

"Okay!" Jay smiled back, giving her a hug, "Thanks, An! I know they've got to be good ones if you came up with them!" An's smile grew larger as she pulled him into another kiss, resuming their make-out session.

.

.

.

At lunch, the Ans and Kankers were at their normal table, eating lunch and chatting.

Anny, Tee, Double-N and Larie were making a schedule for the week, trying to figure out the logistics of the upcoming week so they knew who was going where and when while the Kanker's truck was out of commission.

"So it's agreed," Double-N said. The others nodded.

"Yes." Larie agreed, slipping his hand into hers.

"Yeah." Anny said with a nod.

"Yup, no matter what, Jay and An are_ not_ allowed to drive the van." Tee stated. The four of them looked to the remaining An and Kanker to see if the two were even paying attention to what they were talking about.

They weren't.

An was showing Jay her sketchbook, pointing to well-drawn pictures of monsters on stained pages and telling him all about them. Jay was very impressed by her drawings, he had no idea she was _this talented of an artist_, even though Double-N had mentioned it a one point and he had seen a few of her drawings before, Jay was still stunned by all the detail An had put into her sketches. She had wrinkles, feathers, fur, scales, etc. She had not skimped on a single detail yet the monsters didn't seem too over the top, they were scary and unique and Jay couldn't have been prouder of her.

"This is the one I'm going to be at the party." An told him flipping a page and pointing to a picture, Jay's eyes widened, impressed, even though he couldn't really see it all to well, the page was stained with coffee and the pencil was faded, but what he _could_ see, the small sketches of details and descriptions of the monster in detail were well done, "Wow, An, this is a good one." He said.

"Yeah!" she said excitedly, "I was scared I wouldn't find it again." She said, then gave him a kiss on the cheek, "But you found it!" she exclaimed, giving him a hug. Jay turned bright red and his big goofy smile spread over his face. She let go and flipped the page again, and pointed to the two pages, "These are the ones I've picked for Anny and Double-N." she told him. He looked at the pictures, "Whoa!" he said, impressed.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, there Lumpy." Anny said, getting their attention, "What do you mean the ones you've picked out for us?"

An looked at them plainly, "The monsters I picked out for you to dress as on Saturday for the party." She replied, as if it was obvious.

"Why would you pick out our costumes, An?" Double-N asked. An suddenly looked hurt, "Because you guys promised that the next time that there was a Halloween Party that I could pick out your costumes!" She said, "Don't you remember?"

Anny and Double-N suddenly looked guilty as they tried to remember this promise.

"How can you guys forget a promise like that?" Jay demanded, putting his arm around An for comfort.

"We've made a lot of promises with An over the years, Jay." Double-N explained.

"Yeah, sometimes we forget one or two, it's not like we do it on purpose." Anny snapped.

"I remember when you two made that promise to her though." Jay said. He looked to his brothers, "Remember?" His brothers sat silently for a moment, their faces contorted in concentration for a little while before their eyes suddenly brightened with recollection.

"Oh yeah." Tee said, nodding in agreement.

"I remember too." Larie said.

"Then would you all please kindly remind us how we came to make this promise to An?" Double-N asked. Anny nodded in agreement.

"Well…" Jay began, "It started on the first day of high school."

"What do you mean, 'started?'" Anny asked, a little ticked off.

"Well, there was a chain of events that led to the promise, but the whole thing had started the first day of high school. I remember that because we had just gotten back from camp the night before and were excited to see you three again…"

.

.

.

(FLAAAASSSHHHBAACCKKKK)

(Author: that's right, I put a flashback in the Halloween Special, just to share my love of the Kankers messing with their girls for their favorite treats… as well as explain part of the plot… but mostly my love of the Kankers messing with the Ans)

.

.

.

The Kankers were hanging out by the lockers, feeling pretty confident about their new looks, along with some other new things they had gotten while away at camp.

"I can't wait to see how the girls look when they see how much we've changed over the summer!" Jay said, bouncing on his toes.

"I still think you getting An's name tattooed on your back was really stupid." Larie chuckled, pointing to the back of his left shoulder blade. "Girls freak out once they see their names tattooed on a guy."

"Yeah, well, I think it's stupid that you got your tongue pierced." Jay pouted, rubbing the back of his shoulder. Larie stuck out his tongue and looked at it, then said, "Thy? I thnk mah grl wilth ruve it." he said, then stuck his tongue back into his mouth, "At least, she'll probably like it more then Anny will like what Tee got pierced." He chuckled, pointing at the multiple bars in his ears. Tee flipped him off angrily, then glanced around, impatiently, "Where are they?" Larie and Jay began looking around too, each looking the other way.

Jay's face suddenly turned red and started steaming, his jaw dropped. Larie heard the steam, "Jay's spotted 'um!" he cried, both he and Tee turning to face the same direction, only for them to turn red and for their jaws to drop too.

The girls they had left early this summer had changed dramatically in their absence. Their sudden changes had caught many other people's attention as well, leaving a little crowd around them that parted as they walked down the hall towards them.

Tee couldn't stop staring at Anny, who, when he had left for camp, had still been the shortest An and had not developed yet. But now she was taller then An. She also had grown much curvier in his absence, her chest heaving from under her yellow tank top and her hips now wide in her jeans. Her long pink hair was parted to the side and pulled into a ponytail. Tee's heart began beating so fast he was afraid it might come loose and start bouncing around his ribcage like a rubber band ball. He never even imagined his tiny Anny becoming so big in so many wonderful ways. His body began heating up and tingling in ways he didn't even know it could.

"Hot damn." Larie said, licking his lips, his new silver stud gleaming. Double-N had matured a bit before they had left, her body had begun to develop a little bit, her chest and hips had just begun to grow. She had matured more over the summer, but she wasn't even close to Anny's new curves, but her curves were fine for him, not that her clothes showed it, she wore a red turtleneck and a long purple skirt that reached to her ankles. But Larie didn't mind. The more she covered herself the more he wanted to rip it all off. Her gap had closed a little bit more and she now wore a smaller hat towards the back of her head. Double-N's new clothes weren't the reason everyone was staring at her. The main reason was that Double-N _had finally revealed all the hair she had been hiding under her hat for all these years._ After _all these years_ he could finally admire her and all her beautiful, long black hair she'd always been hiding, it had grown so it had passed her butt and now ended halfway between her butt and her knees. Larie looked at her thinking that, if she was naked, her hair was _just_ long enough for her to cover herself with. He imagined her sitting on his bed with nothing but her long black hair to cover her new adult body. Larie smiled, as he felt his heart race and his pants feel tight, yeah, Double-N's new look was just fine with him.

Jay was starting to drool now as he stared at An. An had been the An farthest into her physical maturity before they had left, her chest had grown enough so she had started wearing a bra and her hips had begun rounding out before he had left. But she had completely blossomed while he had been gone and, although he had missed her terribly, it was almost worth it to see how much prettier she had gotten while he was gone. Her chest was large enough that she could wear a green shirt with the sleeves low on her shoulders without it slipping down (not that he would've minded if it did) and her hips were round and curvy in her jeans. Her red hair, which had grown back a little bit after she cut it so short when she was younger, had been halfway down her neck before he left but was now down to her shoulders. Her face was now adorned with red glasses that made her seem more intelligent and mature. Jay began floating off the ground, his eyes glazed with glee.

The girls seemed to move in slow motion as they walked toward them, they were smiling and talking and laughing.

"Alright," Double-N said, looking down at a sheet of paper, "Our new lockers should be right up here…" she froze, her face going from smiling to horrified as she noticed the Kankers staring at them, the brothers snapped out of their dazes and let their smiles grow as Double-N's face grew pale.

"Kank…" she began, her finger slowly rising to point at them, "Kank…"

Anny and An looked over to where she was looking and their smiles slid off their faces too.

"Kankers..." Anny growled.

"RUN AWAY!" An cried. She and Double-N revved up to flee, only Anny held them back, looking _annoyed_ at the Kankers, not scared like her friends.

"Sock head, what are our locker numbers?" she asked, glaring at the brothers. Double-N stood on her tip-toes and whispered them into her ear. Her eyes widened then narrowed. She stomped towards them, An and Double-N shaking behind her, "Move it, Kankers, you're in front of our lockers." She snapped. Tee was a little surprised at her order, then smirked. Looked like his little Anny had gotten braver while he was away, too.

"Did ya miss us?" he asked, walking towards her and leaning back to see her better, "And here we were hoping to surprise you three with how we've changed. Looks like you three outdid us," he looked her up and down and up again, "not that we mind." He added gleefully.

"I said _move_, Kanker." She growled. Tee's smirk grew into a smile, "And if we don't?"

Anny stiffened a bit, then let her scowl deepen, and stepped forward, glaring down at Tee, "I'll make you, fuck-face." She said darkly. His smile grew, "I like my women _feisty_."

"And I like it when you leave us the _fuck_ _alone_." Tee noticed tiny beads of sweat on her forehead, "Fine." He said, holding his hands up in surrender, then motioned for his brothers to get off the lockers, they opened their mouths to protest, but Tee's devious smirk stopped them. Jay and Larie smiled and said, "Sure." And pushed off the lockers. The girls were shocked and a little weary, but they slowly walked in front of their lockers, keeping a watchful eye on the tricky trio. As Double-N turned to begin to turn the dial, Larie quickly blocked her off by slamming both hands on either side of her. She stiffened and hugged herself, slowly turning to face the blue-haired Kanker.

"Hiya, Muffin." He purred, pulling her in close with one hand around her waist and curling a lock of her hair between the other hand's fingers. "I like your new look… Although," he pushed her back into the locker, then pressed himself so close to her that her chest was now pressed against his, "I wish you'd show a _little_ more skin," he whispered into her ear, she shuttered. "Hey, I got something new this summer, you wanna see?" he asked impishly. Double-N shook her head wildly, "N-no t-thank you, b-but t-thank you for a-asking." She stuttered quickly. Larie opened his mouth and revealed his pierced tongue, Double-N seemed to relax a bit, relief spreading across her face, glad it wasn't something else. "O-oh, well, that's, uh… very interesting Larie…" She said, only for Larie to shove his newly pierced tongue into her mouth. Double-N tried to call out to her friends to help, but she couldn't form a single word with Larie's tongue wrapped around her own.

"Double-N!" An cried, reaching out to try and help her friend, only for Jay to intertwine his fingers in hers from behind, "Hiya Big An… Well, I guess we're the same size now so I should stop calling you that, huh?" he asked, pulling her hands towards her stomach, all the while, pulling her closer to _him_. An's eyes widened with panic as she struggled against him, but to no avail. Jay pulled her closer and closer until her back was touching his chest, "Hey, I've changed more then that, you wanna see?" An shook her head vigorously, "NO!" she shouted. "Okay then." He said. An stopped fighting, she looked back at him, confused, "Really?" she asked.

"Yeah." He replied, "if you don't want to see it, you don't have to." He said, letting her go. An stood there stunned, then she smiled, "Thanks, Jay." She said. Jay's face turned red as he grabbed her head and pulled it close, "If you don't wanna see how I changed, I guess you want me to do it like I always do, huh?" he asked eagerly, An's smile shattered into a look of terror, "NO KISSES FOR AN!" she screamed. "Yeah, just like that!" Jay said, pleased that she had understood him, then pulled her into a long kiss, An tried to push him away, but he slid one foot underneath hers, tripping her, her feet flying in the air. Jay then caught her and pulled her even closer, making sure she couldn't escape his affections without falling onto the floor.

Anny scowled at Jay and Larie and reached out to grab them and throw them off her friends, only for Tee to place his hands in the way and lace his fingers between hers, "Hiya Anny." He said, smirking. Anny looked as if she was ready to tear him apart, "Get off me, asshole!" she cried, trying to yank her hands free from his, but no luck. She started kicking at him, trying to push him off so she could help her friends. She was finally bigger then Tee, but she hadn't counted on him becoming faster then her. He dodged her kicks, and waited until her foot was halfway in the air when he yanked her hands towards him. Anny lost her balance and fell forward, Tee then let go of her hands and wrapped his hands around her neck and pulled her closer into a deep French kiss. Anny tried to pull out of it, but his grip around her neck was tight.

When the brothers were satisfied, they finally let go, just as the bell rang for their first class.

"See ya later girls." They said in unison, then walked away, proud of themselves. The girls were left to pull themselves back together and keep their composure for class.

.

.

.

(MONTAGE TIME!)

(Author: A montage in a flashback in a special? I MUST BE MAD!)

.

An is in an art class and the teacher informs them that their first assignment is to draw a name from a hat and draw a portrait of that person. An reaches in and pulls out a slip of paper, she unfolds it, excited, until she reads the name: 'Jay Kanker.' She turns around, terrified, to see that he is smiling behind her, "Try to get my good side, okay, An?" he said with a big smile. She sits there, shaking for a bit, drawing him, sweat dripping down her face. She looks from Jay to her paper, then back up to see him leap towards her. She jumps up and runs away, only for her teacher to inform her that she has to draw Jay or she'll have to go to the Principal's office. An looks up as Jay's eager shadow swoops down to devour her and she screams as the shadow reaches her. The teacher then sees why An was trying to run away and she goes to break it up.

.

After class, Ann and Anny go to check on her, only to see the art teacher pushing Jay to the Principal's office as An cries, covered in pencil shavings, paint, glitter and hickies. "There was no good side, guys!" she sobbed, holding a drawing of Jay eagerly leaping towards the viewer.

.

Ann is in a health class, sitting in the front, excited to learn. The teacher then tells them that they are going to discuss how children are made and that since they don't have enough text books, that some people are going to have to share. He asks for volunteers. Ann raises her hand, wanting to be helpful. "Thank you, Ann." The teacher then says, "Larie, Ann here will share her book with you." Ann's eyes widen in horror as Larie takes a seat next to her and smiles, "Thanks, Muffin." He says, then licks his lips, his new stud shining in the light. "Now, does anyone know how a child made?" the teacher asks. Larie raises his hand, looking at Ann with a huge smile on his face. Ann shakes her head wildly, tears in her eyes, he nods, deviously. "Alright Larie." The teacher says, "How do you…" Larie leaps and tackles Ann to the ground, "NOO!" Ann screams as he knocks her to the floor. "Very good, Larie!" the teacher says, then realizes that Larie's _actually_ trying to make a baby with her then he goes to break it up.

.

An and Anny check on her after class, only to see the teacher leading Larie to the Principal's office as Ann shakes in a little ball on the floor covered in hickies. Her friends quickly gather her and her belongings and walk her away from the classroom, "I was almost made a mother…" she says, horrified and hugging herself.

.

Anny is in gym class, when the teacher informs them that they are going to run laps outside. Everyone groans. Anny and the other kids line up at the starting line, grumbling and complaining. "Go!" the teacher shouts. Anny barely jogs, looking annoyed. "ANNY!" the teacher shouts, "You're supposed to be running laps, not jogging laps!" She rolls her eyes and resists the urge to flip him off. "I mean, just look at Tee over there." Anny looks behind her and sees Tee racing towards her, a happy smirk on his face. Anny quickly revs up, then _zooms_ away, Tee right behind her, "See?" the teacher says, pleased, "All you needed was a little…" At that moment Tee catches up to her and leaps onto her back, "KANKER!" Anny cries out angrily as she falls forward onto the ground. "Hiya Anny." He huffed, "it turns out we're in the same gym class," he chuckled, "it must be fate." He said. Anny reached to throw him off her back, only for him to grab her arm and drag her off the track and into the grass. "GET THE FUCK OFF ME, KANKER!" Anny shouts. The teacher watches them for a second, only then to hear a scream from Anny and then he runs, blowing his whistle and running to separate them.

.

An and Double-N go to check on her after class, only to see the gym teacher dragging Tee to the Principal's office, Anny covered in grass stains, scrapes and hickies, "Fucking Kanker. They _always _do that!" Anny cried, then folded her arms in front of her, "I _hate _it when they do that!" Anny growls as her friends tend to her wounds.

.

(Montage over)

(Back to the flashback)

.

.

.

The Ans look excited as they go into the club fair in the gym after eating lunch, luckily the brothers were still in the Principal's office so that was Kanker-free. The girls look around, eager to see what clubs they could join, not knowing that the Kankers had just been released from the office so they could find 'activities you can do besides harassing those poor girls' as the Principal had put it.

Double-N saw a line up of chess, science, math, and other academic clubs, her face lit up as she walked up towards them. She was then invited to play a round of chess against one of the members of the chess club after expressing that she enjoyed the game. Not noticing Larie right behind her, smirking deviously.

She beat the member in five turns, "Checkmate." She said cheerfully. The entire club looked down in awe at the board, she then shook her opponent's hand, thanking him for the good game, then getting up and leaving to check out the science club, only for her to realize Larie was right behind her, intrigued, wondering how she beat the guy.

"How'd you do that?" he asked. At first, Double-N was stunned that he had been behind her the whole time. Then she was confused as to why he wasn't tackling her to the ground again, then she was surprised at the question. She finally explained how she beat the club member. He nodded, then sat down, "You think you could teach me?" he asked up to her. She smiled vividly, "Why certainly, Larie." She said. Another club member sat down in his friend's place and began to play against Larie as Double-N explained how to play and gave him advice only once when his opponent deployed a Queen's Gambit, (Author: it means risking your queen, which is pretty much the best piece you've got, if you want more info then google it) otherwise, he did pretty well on his own. He finished the game by moving his knight and saying, "Checkmate." The member stared at the board and shook Larie's hand, "Good game." He said, thrilled, even though he lost, he then shook Double-N's hand as well, saying the same thing.

"This isn't so hard." Larie said, surprised that not only was it not hard, that it was actually kind of fun.

"Actually, Larie, chess is very challenging activity." Double-N informed him, then looked at him thoughtfully, "Yet you were able to understand it in very little time, and even managed to win your first game with hardly any help..." Larie looked at her, eager to hear what she had to say.

Double-N smiled proudly, "That's very impressive, Larie." She said, "Perhaps I could challenge you to a game?" Larie smiled widely, "Make my day, Muffin." He dared. She looked at the chess club, and they nodded, she swiftly slipped over to the other side and sat down, they put the board back together, then began to play, a small crowd of nerds gathering around them, most of them looking at Double-N with goofy grins on their faces.

Anny stared at the Dance Team, looking sad, she looked at the girls happily handing out fliers, she looked as if she wanted to grab a flier, but held back. She sighed, then moved on, Tee right behind her. He glanced at the Dance team, one of the girls squinted at him. He froze, "Fuck!" He hissed, he recognized her from the studio, their teacher had been out sick, so he had pulled his hair out of his eyes and took over for her, as a favor to his grandma. He had done well and some of the girls had even hit on him, much to his surprise. The girl squinting at him was one of those girls, he quickly fled after Anny before she recognized him.

Tee was only interested in Anny. Anny hadn't paid any attention to his eyes back when they had first met, hell, Anny hadn't even known his _name_ back then, yet she still had cared about him. He wouldn't betray her for some stupid bimbo who only liked him for his stupid eyes. Tee smiled, and besides, Anny's new curves were _way_ nicer then that girl's.

Tee followed Anny to the cheerleading booth, where she was trying to get some information, but kept getting stonewalled by one of the cheerleaders, who had obviously had a boob job, and a very bad one at that, "Like, why'd we want some _fat chick_ on our squad?" she asked, popping her gum in Anny's face. Tee felt rage flood through his body, he stomped over to them, ready to rip that bitch apart. The girl blew another bubble only for Anny to take a pencil from the table and use it to pop it in her face, covering her face and hair with bright pink gum.

"Oops, my bad, I guess I didn't see you there under my _real boobs_." She snapped. Tee cracked up behind her, making her turn and look back at him, surprised. Not only because he had not attacked her when her back had been turned, but that he was _actually_ laughing at something she had said and done.

"You're like, _so_ dead!" Bubblegum Girl snapped, slamming her hands onto the table and glaring at them, the other cheerleaders noticed what happened to their colleague's hair and started to make an angry crowd behind the booth. Tee grabbed her hand, "Only if they can catch us first!" he told her, then they both booked it until they hid under the bleachers and watched as the angry cheerleaders ran past them. They both looked at each other.

"Can I have my hand back?" Anny asked, annoyed. Tee blushed and let go, much to Anny's surprise, since he hadn't let go or left her alone when she had asked him to before. They said nothing to each other for a minute, they didn't look at each other, or anything.

"Thanks." She finally said, offhandedly, "for getting me out of there." Tee smiled happily, glad that he had had managed to help her, then tried to play it cool, "Yeah, well, I figured you'd earned a helping hand after covering that bimbo in bubblegum then dissing her fake boobs." They sat there for a second before cracking up. "They were pretty fake." Anny giggled. "They look so _bad_." Tee snickered. They then laughed for a while, making fun of the fake cheerleaders.

An wandered around, excited, she wondered if they had movie clubs or monster lover clubs or gravy lovers clubs or chicken lover clubs. She smiled, she_ loved_ chickens. She then spotted something that made her get really, _really_ excited.

'Video Game Club.'

She ran over and stood at the booth, jumping up and down. A perky girl walked up to An, "Would you like to join the Video Game Club?" she asked cheerfully. An nodded vigorously, "I LOVE VIDEOGAMES!" she cried, thrilled at the chance to be able to play video games in school. "You're actually the second person to want to join, come back here with me, we have a game set up for two players in the back for potential members." An's smile grew bigger, she could start playing video games right now? _And_ she could make a new friend? This had to be the best club ever! The girl led her into a dark classroom and told her to enjoy, then went back to the booth in the gym to encourage more people to come and join. An hopped over and picked up a controller, excited and turned on the console.

"An?" a familiar voice asked. An froze, then turned to see Jay holding the other controller. "KANKER!" she cried, then ran towards the door.

"WAIT AN! PLEASE DON'T GO! I'VE BEEN DYING TO PLAY ZOMBIE SLAUGHTERERS 1 FOR FOREVER AND IT'S A TWO PLAYER GAME!" An skidded to a stop, then turned around and ran towards him, grabbing him by the collar, "THEY HAVE THE FIRST ZOMBIE SLAUGHTERERS GAME?" she demanded. Jay nodded vigorously, "Yeah, I know right? I've been looking around all sorts of shops trying to find this game for a long time, and I've never been able to find it." An smiled, "Hey, me too!" she said cheerfully, "Have you played the sequels?"

"Played them? I've MASTERED them!" Jay replied excitedly.

"Me too!" An cried, thrilled that she had finally found someone who understood her love of videogames. Anny and Double-N were her best friends in the whole world and would sometimes play with her, but they weren't really gamer girls. "Have you played 'The Dark Desires' series?" she asked.

"Only a _million_ times!" he cried, "Have you played 'Venom Brigade, Last Strike'?" An nodded vigorously, "All the time!" they stopped, then stared at each other for a moment, not sure what to say or do next. An suddenly felt nervous, finally realizing that she was _alone_ in a room with the boy who had been chasing her around and tackling her for kisses for _years_. Was he going to jump her here too? She didn't know if she could handle another Kanker attack that day.

Then the title screen showed up, the words 'Zombie Slaughterers' showed up on the screen.

"Wanna waste some Zombies?" Jay asked her. An's face lit up, "Okay!" she said. After a pleasant hour of obliterating zombies with chainsaws, they heard Anny and Double-N walk up to the classroom.

"I'm just saying Anny, I'd like to see _how_ he'd try to counter my checkmate. He was reaching for his rook, I wanted to see what he would do with it." Double-N pouted.

"Oh, get over it, it's Larie, the guy was probably going to try and clean his ear with it." Anny snapped. Then they both stopped in front of the classroom, "AN! YOU IN THERE? WE'VE GOT TO GET TO CLASS! LET'S GO, LUMPY!" An looked at the door, then at Jay, then back at the door. She then pulled out the drawing of him from art class and a pencil, she scribbled on it for a minute, then shoved it into his chest and dashed to the door, giving him a small smile as she left the room to join her friends in the hall. Jay's chest was tight and his heart raced at that, then his hands began to sweat as he looked at the picture she gave him. On the page she had wrote 'Ce U on Wednday, Jay.' Jay's face turned red as he admired how his name looked in her messy handwriting. He floated out of the classroom as his brothers walked up the hall, "Best. Club. Ever." He said. His brothers looked at him, intrigued. "What the fuck are you so happy about?" Tee asked him. He showed his brothers the paper. "It's a picture of you, so?" Jay pointed to An's note on the side of the page. "Its just scribbles." Larie said. Jay translated her messy handwriting and his brothers brightened, "Way to go, Jay!" they said, patting him on the back.

The Ans were walking to their next classes further up the hall when An noticed a flyer for a Halloween party. "LOOK, GUYS, THERES A COSTUME PARTY!" An cried happily, as she tore the flier off the wall, she _loved_ costume parties. Actually, she loved parties in general, but she _really _loved costume parties.

"Yeah, on Halloween." Anny said, "It's not for months, so what?" Double-N nudged her, "Anny!"

"What?" Anny asked.

"She's allowed to be excited for it, and with the Kankers being their normal aggressive selves, An could use something to look forward to." Double-N said sternly, then looked to An, her eyes soft, "That sounds very pleasant An." she said in a motherly tone. An began to bounce on her toes. "Video games and costume parties!" An said happily, "HIGH SCHOOL'S AWESOME!" Anny and Double-N smiled at her warmly and patted their simple friend on the back.

"Got that right, Lumpy." Anny said.

"Indeed." Double-N agreed.

.

.

.

(Montage #2)

(Author: Just showing the passage of time in this flashback through shenanigans to get on with the plot)

.

-August-

.

An and her friends are in a cooking class, making brownies. An is gathering the ingredients, Ann is measuring out how much of each one they'll need and Anny is plopping the ingredients into the bowl and pulling out the pan they'll pour the batter in to bake the brownies in. After they got everything they needed in the bowl, Anny takes it to the mixer. "Can I lick the bowl, Double-N?" An asks, excited. "An, it has raw egg in it, you shouldn't eat it." Double-N says. "Aww, let her lick the bowl," Anny says, scraping the batter into the mixer and turning it on. Only, the mixer does nothing. Anny scowls at it and hits the top of it. Her friends come close and try to see what's wrong with the mixer. Only for Tee and Larie grab their hair and put it near the mixers' beaters. The girls begin to panic, only for Jay to whistle for their attention, revealing that he had unplugged it and, to their horror, plugs back in again. The girls scream as their hair get mixed together and they get splattered with brownie batter, Jay unplugs the mixer again, smirking. The brothers then chuckle as they lick their lips. The girls cry out as the boys leap at them, tongues out.

The boys are sent to the principal's office by the teacher, licking their batter-covered fingers and lips. The school nurse is untangling the girl's hair from the beaters, it takes a while, but she manages to free the three of them. The Ans are covered in slobber, bits of brownie dough, and hickies. All of them looked grossed out and upset, but An looks at the flier for the Halloween party and perks up a bit. The other two Ans look at her, a little relieved that she has something to be hopeful for.

.

An and Jay are in video game club with some upper classmen, An watches two other kids playing a game where you have to shoot vampire bats with crossbows. An is on the other side of the room from Jay. He walks over, cautiously, not wanting to scare her. When he finally gets close, he sits down beside her, not that she notices. One of the upperclassmen offers the two of them lollipops from a bag. They both reach for one and their hands touch, An pulls her hand back, surprised that Jay was beside her the whole time. Jay's face turns red as he pulls out two and offers her one. An looks at it fearfully, frightened that it could be another trick. Jay gives her a soft smile and holds it out for her, she takes it hesitantly and unwraps it. After seeing that it wasn't a trick, she gives him a thankful smile and goes back to watching the other two kids murder bats on the screen as she pops it into her mouth. Jay smiles happily then unwraps his own and pops it into his mouth, staring at the happy girl beside him lovingly.

.

-September-

.

Ann and her friends are in a science classroom, wearing lab coats with their hair pulled back into ponytails. Ann is explaining magnets to her friends, how the poles attract and repel. An and Anny look bored, then look behind her and their eyes widen in horror. Ann looks behind her and sees Larie holding a large semi-circle magnet. The girls then look behind An and Anny and see Jay holding another one. Tee turns the one in Jay's hands around so that the magnets attract each other. The brothers let go and the magnets fly towards each other, trapping the girls. The boys surround them, smirking, the girls scream as they pounce on them.

Later the boys are sent to the principal's office by one teacher while another teacher cuts the magnets holding the girls in half with a special saw, then pushing the halves around so the girls can get out easier. The three of them are covered in hickies and their hair is down and messy. The three of them are shaking, but An looks at the flier for the Halloween party and cheers up a bit.

.

Jay is sitting by one of the TVs they had set up for that week, a controller in his hand, trying to decide which character he should be for a fighting game. An walks past, trying to get to another game, when she sees the game he's playing and stops to suggest a character for him to play as and tells him how awesome the character is. He looks back at her, stunned that she was talking to him normally. His face turns bright red, "Thanks An." he says, smiling. An quickly realizes what she has just done and scampers off, nodding quickly and blushing. Jay smiles at her retreating form as she joins some of the upperclassmen in another fighting game. He moves the cursor so it highlights the character An suggested, and starts the game. He quickly discovers that An was correct, the character _was_ pretty awesome and he wins each round with ease. An walks back to the other side to play a different game. Jay looks back at her, then says, "Hey An." She stops, nervously and turns to him. "Thanks for the help, this guy's pretty awesome, I'll use him more often." Jay says gratefully. An smiles happily, then nods and goes back to running over to the other game. Jay's heart bounces against his ribcage as he goes on to win another match with his new favorite character.

.

-October-

.

Anny and her friends are in the girls locker room, looking down at their new cheerleading uniforms. "I knew we were cheerleader material." Anny says smugly, "It's too bad they had to wait until the middle of the season to figure that out, or we probably would've done better in the last couple of games." She said, checking herself out in the mirror. "I feel pretty!" An agrees, twirling in the skirt. Ann looks uncomfortable in the short skirt of the cheerleading uniform, "It's a bit short for my taste..." she says, pulling down on it, hoping it will extend. It doesn't. The older girls come up to them, obviously not happy that those three were there. "Let's, like, get this straight." One girl snaps, her hair seems to be uneven in the front. "You three are, like, only here because these new aces of the football team that the coach discovered won't play if you aren't, like, on the squad." The Ans look at one another, surprised, then they slump a bit. "The aces are the Kanker brothers, aren't they?" Anny asked, exasperated. The cheerleaders seem surprised, "Yeah, like, how'd you know?" The Ans sighed, "Because that's just our _fucking__** luck**_." Anny replied bitterly. They walk out onto the field, the only cheerleaders who _didn't_ look happy and who _weren't_ excited to be there. The Peach Creek Cobblers quickly ran out onto the field, a bunch of them running to the cheerleaders, giving them pecks on the cheek or hugs before they start warming up. The Ans look around, anxious, until they hear the familiar, "Hiya, girls." They wince and turn around, looking at them pitifully. "We had no idea you three were cheerleaders." Jay says happily. "This is great, because we just joined the football team." Larie smirks, licking his lips. "I guess we'll be seeing you three more often, huh?" Tee says smugly. Anny scowls at him, "You son of a…" The Coach runs up to them, "Boys, we need to warm up, get your good luck kisses and get moving!" The boys nod, "Yes Coach!" they shout in unison. The girls back into the bleachers, alarmed. "Good luck kisses?" Anny repeats, horrified. "Yeah." Tee says, smirking, "The other guys told us about 'um, you get a kiss from your girl at the beginning of the game and you play better." The Kankers lean their faces close to the Ans, "And apparently if you win, you get victory kisses from your girl at the end." The girls begin to shake, "You _wouldn't_." Anny hisses, Tee raises an eyebrow, as if to say, 'Oh wouldn't I?' then the brothers grab the Ans and pull them into long, and unwanted kisses. The boys then toss their helmets on and race onto the field.

"High school sucks." Anny grumbles.

"Indeed." Ann agrees.

An holds the wrinkly flier up to her friends, an encouraging smile on her face. Her friends smile sheepishly back and pat her on the back.

.

.

.

(End of Montage 2)

(Back to the flashback)

.

.

.

An makes her way to Video Game Club, excited, the big Halloween party was finally here, it was this Saturday! After everything she had endured for the past three months, it was totally worth it for her to finally get to go to a Halloween party with her friends. That party was one of the few things from keeping her from breaking down from the daily strain of the Kanker's attacking them… well that and video game club, where she actually could be in a room with Jay and _not_ have him attack her, which was nice.

She was right in front of the clubroom, she smiled widely, this room was _definitely_ a happy place, Jay didn't attack her there, he gave her space and let her be, it was like a sanctuary. The one room in the school where Jay Kanker wouldn't attack her, well that and the girls bathrooms and the girls locker room… Well, not so much the locker room anymore since last week when the Kankers had attacked the Ans while they were changing out of those skimpy cheerleader uniforms into their normal clothes, but the club room and the girls bathrooms were still safe.

As she reached for the door, Jay was running toward her, "An!" he called, waving to get her attention, she turned to him, then stiffened. It was after school on Wednesday, so she knew he was there for video game club as well, but still, she was trying to decide if she should go by her instincts and run for her life from him since she wasn't inside the room yet. Jay managed to meet her at the door before she had decided on her next move.

"An, Video game club is cancelled this week, remember? The others said we should work on our Halloween Costumes for the party this weekend." An nodded, understanding, while she was a bit upset that video game club was cancelled, she was _really_ excited about that party. "Okay." She said, giving him a small smile, "Thanks, Jay. See you later." She said, happily skipping and humming to the front entrance of the school.

"Um, hey An?"

An turned around, "Yeah, Jay?" He twirled his fingers and looked down at his shoes, "Um… you like video game club, right?" he asked softly.

She looked at him, confused, "Yeah. I love Video Game Club, why?" Jay flushed a bit at the word 'love' then looked up at her bashfully, "Well, you just seemed happy that it was cancelled…"

An frowned a bit, "I'm not happy about that." She clarified, "I'm happy for the party."

Jay perked up a bit, "You're going to that Halloween party this weekend?" An's face lit up, "You bet!" she exclaimed, "I love Halloween and Parties and Costumes and Candy and Fun!" An cheered. Jay turned red at the word 'love' again.

"Well, uh, I was thinking about going too, so… uh…" he looked as if he was going to explode, his whole body shook, his skin was bright red, "I guess I'll see you there!" he blurted, then frowned, as if that wasn't what he wanted to say to her at all.

"Okay." An said, giving him one of her sweet, happy, normal smiles, "See you there, Jay." She said with a wave, then continued to skip towards the door, humming a tune she had just made up.

Jay turned crimson, steam came screaming out of his ears, and big goofy grin grew on his face. His feet rose into the air, he began floating, his eyes glazed over with pure glee. He may not have been able to ask her if she wanted to go to the party with him, but she seemed happy that she was going to see him there. He then snapped out of his daze and hopped back onto the ground, "I gotta work on my costume!" he cried, not wanting to look like a loser next to An at the party.

.

.

.

That Friday, the Ans sat at their table, An was bouncing up and down, despite them being ambushed by the Kankers twice already that day, leaving the boys in the Principal's office again during lunch.

"So what are you going to be, An?" Double-N asked her. After all the times Anny and Double-N had seen An's hope for the next day brighten at mention of that party or a view at that wrinkly, torn flier, it gave them a little hope too. Anny and Double-N were now just as eager as An was about the party, although they were worried about what An could hold onto for hope after the Kankers would most likely come back and pounce on them again next week, when the party would have long been over, but for now, they decided to just keep focusing on the positives. They could find something else for An to get excited about after the party.

"Yeah, Lumpy, give us the details." Anny urged, a huge smile on her face.

An gave her a sly smile, "It's a secret, guys, so nobody steals my idea." She explained, obviously pleased with herself. Anny and Double-N smiled at one another, then began pestering her for details, laughing and making odd guesses at what she was going to be.

"I'm telling you." Anny laughed, "It _has_ to be a chicken, you _love_ chickens." An happily shook her head, "Nope." She said, "But I _do_ love chickens, Anny."

"That was a good guess, Anny, I was about to ask that as well." Double-N chuckled.

"Students, this is the Principal speaking, I have an announcement to make." The Ans stopped laughing and looked up at the ceiling where the Principal's voice boomed from the speakers.

"Please let the Kankers be expelled." Anny begged, crossing her fingers.

"Anny, they wouldn't announce that." Double-N said, but unknown to her friends, her fingers were also crossed under the table.

"Maybe their gonna have a big costume contest!" An said, her smile expanding on her face, "And the winner gets PUDDING SKIN!" she said happily, then licked her lips at the thought of getting a big pudding skin as her well earned winnings.

"I'm afraid due to budget cuts, the Halloween Party tomorrow has been cancelled." An's face fell, she looked as if she had just gotten shot.

"What?" Anny shouted angrily at the ceiling.

"They can't do that!" Double-N cried, looking from the ceiling to An, who's lower lip began to quiver and she began to sniffle.

"Lumpy?" Anny said softly, reaching out to her but An backed away from her friend's hand.

"An?" Double-N called gently, using the motherly tone she often used when An was upset, but An slowly got up and walked out of the cafeteria, her eyes glued to the ground, her head curved down, she dragged her feet as she leaned against the door to push it open using her whole body, then slipped out.

Anny and Double-N looked at each other, concerned, then dashed after her.

.

.

.

Unknown to the Ans, the Kankers were now trampling through the halls, with Jay mashing lockers left and right.

"What the fuck is your problem?" Tee asked him, lifting him off the ground.

"Our _girls_ were gonna go to that party!" Jay cried, "We could've had fun with them but thanks to that stupid budget thing we can't!"

"So how do you think breaking more shit that the school will have to pay to repair is gonna help that?" Larie asked him. Jay froze for a minute, then glared at his brother, "An was _excited_ about it, she _really_ wanted to go!" Jay hissed.

"Were you gonna take her?" Tee asked.

"I tried asking her, but I messed up." Jay admitted.

"Figures." Larie huffed.

Jay scowled at him, "At least I tried!" he snapped.

Tee and Larie both winced at that, while they had no problem tackling their girls for kisses, they were both _terrified_ at the idea of actually asking them out on a date or to a party.

"And An said she'd see me there! And she actually seemed… _happy_ about seeing me there." he said, his anger draining away to disappointment and hurt. His brothers' eyes widened at that, surprised that An would be happy seeing their brother at a party, _especially_ one that she had been excited about for a while now after all the crap they had done to the Ans for the past three months, as well as all the stuff they had done to the Ans _before_ they got to high school. Tee put him down, only for the brothers to see An walk into the hall. They jumped back in surprise at the sight of her.

An's eyes were glued to the floor, her head was curved downwards, her normal smile was replaced with a depressing frown, tears slid silently down her cheeks and onto the floor. She dragged her feet at a slow pace, she looked pale and tired, as if she was sick.

"An?" Jay called softly, but An didn't seem to hear him. He reached out and gently touched her shoulder, but she just kept walking as if she hadn't felt it. She was like a zombie. Jay felt as if a part of him was dying.

_What had happened to An?_

"Holy shit." Larie said.

"What the fuck happened to her?" Tee asked.

"What the fuck do you think?" a familiar, angry voice asked. Tee and Larie turned around to see Anny and Double-N, Jay was too busy following An to notice her friends, he was trying to figure out what was wrong with her. The other two Ans looked ready to leap at them and rip their throats open with their bare teeth.

Double-N stormed up to them, steaming with fury like a freight train, "BECAUSE OF YOUR CONSTANT HARRASSMENT, THE ONLY THING KEEPING AN FROM ENDING UP LIKE THIS WAS THAT PARTY!" she shouted, jabbing her fingers into their chests and making them back away from her, frightened, and, in Larie's case, a little turned on.

"Yeah!" Anny agreed, zipping behind her friend and grabbing their shirts, and lifting them off the ground, surprising them, "And because you three can't go a day without breaking shit, they don't have enough money to have the party at all!" she growled.

"So now An's in a state of utter hopelessness because you three CAN'T BEHAVE YOURSELVES LIKE DECENT HUMAN BEINGS!" Double-N shouted. Anny dropped them onto the floor, disgusted and she and Double-N stomped past them, their faces going from livid to motherly as they approached their depressed friend. Jay was still trying to get a reaction from her, tears forming in his eyes.

He looked up to her friends, "Was this _our fault_?" he asked, starting to cry. Anny and Double-N looked at him, their eyes a mix of pity and anger. Jay bowed his head and moved out their way, Anny stomped forward to get An, but Double-N looked at him and spoke in a soft voice, her tone, however, was stern, "It would be best if you and your brothers were to…" she stopped, trying to think of the right words to describe their constant horrible harassment of her and her friends, "Try to woo us less often and try not to damage school property anymore. That would be the best way to remedy An's predicament, or, at least ensure that this kind of quandary _does __**not**__ happen again_. Do you understand, Jay?" she asked him.

He nodded, wiping a few tears off his cheeks, "Yeah, back off and stop breaking stuff." He said sadly. Double-N nodded, then walked over to help her friends.

"Come on, An, it's going to be okay." Anny said, standing in front of her, her hands on An's shoulders, An shook her head and said, "It's not okay, Anny."

"An?" Double-N said, her voice soft and soothing, "It's alright, there will be other parties." An shook her head again, "It would've been our first costume party, Ann." She said. "And now it's gone." Anny and Double-N looked at each other, alarmed that An had used Double-N's _**real**_name, something An had _never_ done before.

"It's okay, An!" Anny said, trying to cheer her up, "We can have our own party!"

An shook her head, "It's not the same, Anny."

"Well, what if, at the next Costume Party we go to, you can design our costumes too?" Double-N suggested. An's head perked up a bit, "Really?" she asked, looking up at her friends, a small bit of hope in her eyes. Anny nodded vigorously, "Yeah, An, surprise us! Whatever you want, we'll wear it, okay?" An's face started to regain color and she lifted her head back up. "Promise?" she asked them, her eyes wide.

"Of course, An." Double-N said soothingly. "We promise."

"Yeah, Lumpy, since when have we ever broke a promise to you?" Anny said with a smile.

An's normal smile spread across her face, her color came back, her head rose back up, she pulled her friends close, "AN IS HAPPY ONCE MORE!" The other Ans hugged her back, "We're glad to hear that An," Double-N said, a warm smile on her face. "Good to have you back, Lumpy." Anny said with a grin.

.

.

.

(Out of flashback)

.

.

.

"Oh yeah." Anny said.

"I believe we owe you an apology, An," Double-N said, "We had completely forgotten about our promise to you and it wasn't right of us to do so."

"So you'll wear the costumes?" An asked, her eyes wide as if to say, 'Please don't say no, or I'll cry!' Anny and Double-N looked at each other, then looked at An, smiling anxiously.

"Yeah, Lumpy," Anny said, trying to hide the nervousness in her voice but just barely doing so, "Like I said, we'll wear whatever you've got for us."

"Of course, An, what kind of friends would we be if we went back on our promise?" Double-N replied. Although, it seemed as if she was asking their table that question instead of answering An's.

An smiled widely, then looked at Tee and Larie, "You want me to pick out your costumes, too?" Tee and Larie looked at one another, then at Anny and Double-N, who looked at them pitifully.

"Sure," they said in unison, deciding that they'd rather look like idiots in An's weird creature costumes and have dates to this party then like look like idiots without dates in cool costumes. Anny and Double-N looked at them gratefully, glad that they weren't alone with An and Jay looking like… whatever An was going to make them wear.

An began to bounce excitedly in her seat, "THIS IS GONNA BE SO MUCH FUN!" she cried, clutching her notebook to her chest. Jay smiled at her proudly, then itched his back.

Anny leaned over to Tee, "So Jay _really_ has An's name tattooed on his back?" she whispered, concerned. Double-N and Larie leaned in, wanting to hear what they were talking about.

"Technically it's on the back of his left shoulder blade, but yeah, he had An's name put there when we were fourteen." Tee replied.

"Seriously?" Anny asked, then gave him and Larie funny looks, "You and Larie don't have tattoos like that too, do you?"

"Pft, No." they scoffed in unison, Anny and Double-N sighed, relieved.

"Good." Anny said, "Cause that'd be _really_ weird."

"Indeed, that would've made us both a little uncomfortable if you did." Double-N agreed.

The bell rang and the girls got up to clear their trays, Tee and Larie looked at each other, panicked.

"So we lie and tell them we got them _after_…?" Larie began.

"Yeah." Tee answered, "The less those two know about that, the better."

.

.

.

For the rest of the week, Anny and Double-N did what they always did, but it was obvious to Tee and Larie that they were nervous to see what An had chosen for their costumes. An was too happy making the costumes to really pay attention, Jay was helping her, so he was giving An one hundred percent of his attention.

That Saturday at three pm, Anny, Double-N, Tee, Larie, and Jay stood in An's bedroom.

Tee and Larie were grossed out by her room, unsure how An had survived in there since she was five.

Larie looked at his girlfriend, amazed that she, one of the biggest clean/neat freaks in town, had braved this room for so many years, "You're okay down here?" he asked her, shocked. Double-N nodded, "I am well aware of the dangers one can face down here." She replied, "However, this room is the reason I bring gloves with me everywhere I go." Larie smiled at her, impressed, "Hot damn." He said, giving her a kiss on the cheek, making her turn pink.

An pulled out five boxes from beside her mattress, "I had Jay and Jamie help me with them." She said happily, then handed three of the boxes to Jay. Jay looked at his brothers, "Since we're brothers, we're going to be the same species of alien, An calls them 'Stardust', they kind of resemble jungle cats." He explained, handing a box to each of his brothers. They each opened them and looked inside and saw nothing but fur the same color as their hair. Jay looked at his brothers proudly, "They're awesome." He said. They smiled politely and nodded, which was something they normally _didn't_ do, but it was for their brother and the Ans, so they sucked it up.

An smiled widely, a box in each hand, "And here are yours, guys!" she said to her friends, her expression was one of pride, joy and excitement.

"Can't wait!" Anny said, sweating nervously.

"Yes, we've been on our toes all week waiting for this, An." Double-N said truthfully, giving her a toothy grin. An's smile grew bigger, she hugged her friends, "You guys are the best!" she cried. Anny and Double-N put big smiles on their faces and looked at each other, as if to say 'What have we gotten ourselves into?' An released them and held up the boxes.

"Here's your costume, Anny!" she said, handing Anny a box.

Anny opened it and found pink armor and a yellow leather blouse with purple triangles and a long dark blue skirt with slits up the side and what looked like a metal headband mixed with a helmet, "What the fuck am I supposed to be, 'Xena, Warrior Princess'?" Anny muttered.

'I sure hope so.' Tee thought, blushing as he went through his box and pulled out a head with large fangs, one of them being blue, and red curls covering where the eyes were supposed to be. Even though he did this to get brownie points from Anny so he could eventually get her as his girlfriend, he had to admit that An, Jay and Jamie did a good job on the costume, it was vicious looking and well crafted.

"No, you're a…" An says a long word of uncomprehendible sounds, then informed them that everyone calls them "Beautiful Warriors for short."

"Beautiful Warrior, huh?" Anny said with a smile, "I can get used to that."

"Here's yours, Double-N!" An said, handing her a box. Double-N opens it and pulls out a long bundle of bandages. She suddenly looked confused as she pulls more bandages out of the box. "Excuse me, An. But I can't find a costume in here. All I can find are bandages."

"That is your costume, Double-N." An tells her. Double-N turns red, "Oh my."

Larie smiled at that news. "Hot damn." He murmured, then licked his lips, "Best. Halloween. Ever." He whispered as he pulled out the head, which had only one eye and long clawed paw gloves he'd have to put on.

"You're a pain element, Double-N, they're really smart. You have telepathic powers."

"I see." She said, unsure how to respond otherwise. Double-N then looked up at An, "What about your costume, An?" she asked.

"Yeah." Anny said, putting down some of the armor she had pulled out of the box, "What are you going to be?"

An smiled and held up the box Jay had helped her find earlier. Anny and Double-N looked horrified at the sight of it, "AN!" they cried as she took her box and ran into the bathroom. Her friends chased her, only for them to be locked out.

"How could she have found it?" Double-N cried, clawing at her hair.

"We should've just destroyed it." Anny said regretfully, looking disappointed and angry at herself.

"What's in there?" Tee asked.

Double-N and Anny sighed and looked at the boys, looking guilty, "Roughly four years ago, we had thought it would be a good idea to make a monster movie starring ourselves." Double-N began.

"Yeah, we thought it not only be fun, but if we needed some extra dough, we could have a showing and charge admission." Anny continued.

"So we used An's expertise in monsters and constructed a monster costume…" Double-N shook her head, "but we had no idea we had actually _created_ a real _monster._"

"What are you two talking about?" Larie asked, putting his arm around Double-N. Double-N looked up at Anny, "Perhaps showing them would be easier then trying to explain?" she asked. Anny nodded and held out her hands. Double-N handed her a set of gloves and Anny put them on as she walked over to An's TV. She dug around for a minute, until she found an old VHS tape labeled: 'An's Monster Rampage.' She blew off some dust and wiped off some of the food crumbs and a chunk of fresh buttered toast, then shoved it into An's VCR and pressed play. Double-N led Larie and his brothers closer to the TV where a young Anny appeared on the screen, looking confused. She about twelve or thirteen when they had filmed this, so it was during the boy's first year in Peach Creek, the brothers found relatively clean-ish places to sit down and watch while Anny and Double-N stood on either side of the TV, their eyes glued to the bathroom door, watching it as if it could explode any second.

"Um, how can you tell if it's on?" young Anny asked the audience.

"Is the red light on?" Double-N asked off screen.

"Yeah."

"Then it's on."

"Oh, uh, ehem." She said, clearing out her throat. Anny then made a serious face and said, "The Ans' Monster Rampage is intended for all audiences and is rated…" she paused, trying to remember what to say next then frowned and said, "Oh who cares! It's a scary monster movie! What? Do they want the whole stinkin' plot ruined in the first five minutes?" she asked.

Tee couldn't get over how much Anny had changed in roughly four short years, he found himself looking back and forth so he could see just how much, luckily she hadn't noticed, since she was still staring at the bathroom door.

"Anny! It's procedure to…"

"Whatever, Sock head, is An done yet?"

"Almost Anny."

"Almost?" Anny repeated, then moved the camera onto Double-N, who stiffened at the sight of the camera and began to sweat, she was standing next to the same box that An had taken into the bathroom with her. "What do you mean, almost?" Anny demanded.

"W-well, uh… I-I still need to … uh, p-put the head on, A-Anny." She stuttered, looking nervously at the camera.

Larie smiled, it didn't matter at what age Double-N was, she was so_ cute_ when she was nervous.

"Then put the stupid thing on!" Anny snapped, "We're wasting daylight!"

"A-alright Anny." Double-N said, shaking a bit as she reached down and picked up the box and walked over to where An's mattress was, they had put a screen up in front of it, so you only saw Double-N's shadow run up to An, whose body was impossible to make out from the shadow alone. You see Double-N place the head over An's and look back at her work.

"Do I look scary, Double-N?" An asked excitedly.

Jay smiled at the sound of An's voice, he wondered when he'd finally see her costume in real life, he'd seen the drawing, but the page had been stained and the pencil marks had faded a bit over time, so he hadn't gotten the best look at it. He was excited to see what she looked like in it.

"You look positively petrifying, An!" Double-N said proudly. An's bizarre shadow bounced on her mattress at the compliment.

"AN!" Sam's voice shouted from off screen, the camera panned over to see Sam looking pissed, "I TOLD YOU TO KNOCK IT OFF WITH YOUR STUPID FREEZER EXPERIMENTS!" he shouted angrily, holding up what looked like a giant fish with drumsticks for eyes and what looked like icicles for teeth, on closer inspection you could see that it was made up of many random foods that one would find in the freezer. Anny laughed from behind the camera while Double-N shouted, "GOOD LORD!" The Kanker brothers started to laugh at the sight of the giant waste of food that An had crafted into… whatever it was.

"It's a shark!" Young An said proudly.

"YOU NEED TO CLEAN OUT THE FREEZER RIGHT NOW!" Sam shouted, pointing up the stairs.

"She's BUSY!" Anny shouted back, "NOW GO AWAY, SAM!"

"THIS IS MY HOUSE!" Sam shouted louder back, then punched beside the camera, suddenly the camera zoomed out until you heard a crash and then the camera slid down a little. "Okay…" Anny said in a pained voice, "I'm hurt now…"

"ANNY!" Double-N and An cried.

Tee clenched his fists, that little asshole had hurt his girl! He glanced at the door leading out of An's room, itching for Sam to come through there so he could crush the little shit.

When the camera had zoomed out, it had gotten Double-N and Sam in the frame with An's shaking shadow. Sam smiled at Double-N sweetly as she cowered behind the empty box, shaking fearfully, "Whatcha been doing down here, Double-N?" he asked sweetly.

"N-n-nothing!" she stuttered, her teeth chattering. Sam gave her a confused look, "Is that so?" he said, still using the same sweet tone of voice as he pulled her up by her ear, Double-N let out a squeak of pain, "Good." He purred into her ear, "THEN AN CAN CLEAN OUT THE FREEZER!" Sam shouted in her ear, Double-N cried out in pain and covered her ear, looking at Sam as if he had just punched her.

"DOUBLE-N!" An cried.

"WHY DON'T YOU CLEAN THE FREEZER YA LITTLE!" but before Anny could finish, Sam threw Double-N towards the camera, the girls cried out and the camera moved a bit from the collision. Sam looked at the two, then picked them up, along with the camera, and shoved them out the little window in An's room. After they were outside the house, knocked out, the camera was angled so you could see Sam hanging out of the window and Anny and Double-N out cold on An's lawn. Sam began sighing at the sight of Double-N, propping his head up with his hands.

Larie had seen enough. He was ready to walk upstairs and turn An from a big sister into an only child. He was so mad that his head was smoking from rage and grinding his teeth, he wanted to fucking _murder_ Sam, he moved to get up, but Double-N gently touched his arm and said, "Wait until it's over, Larie."

"Yeah, then you can kill him." Anny agreed. Larie glared at the door leading to the stairs but Double-N gave him a small peck on the cheek, making his face burn red, "I'm dating_ you_." She whispered, "Sam** doesn't** _matter._" Larie looked at her, obviously upset that he couldn't murder Sam, but still _really_ happy that she chose him, he sat back down and began to claw into the concrete floor as Sam made kissy faces at his girlfriend's unconscious body, then Sam realized that the camera was still on and reached to turn it off, only for him to be suddenly dragged back into An's room with a roar, he screamed from inside the room, only to be met with another roar and crashing sounds. Tee and Larie smiled at that.

"That sounded like it hurt." Larie purred, pleased that the brat who beat the crap out of his girl then stared at her lovingly was getting the shit beaten out of him.

"Serves him right, the little shit." Tee agreed deviously, also pleased to see Sam get his comeuppance.

"What was that?" Jay asked.

"An." Anny and Double-N said in unison, still looking at the bathroom door.

"Huh?" They asked in unison, confused that An, who wouldn't let _anyone_ hurt her beloved baby brother, was suddenly beating the crap out of him herself.

"Just keep watching." They replied in unison.

The boys obeyed. After a few minutes of Anny and Double-N being out of it, they slowly and painfully pulled themselves up off the ground, groaning and moaning with pain.

"Wait till I get my hands on that little twerp!" young Anny seethed as she wobbled on her feet, still a little woozy from Sam throwing Double-N at her.

Double-N glanced through the window, "I don't see anyone down there, Anny." She informed her.

"That little brat must have made An start cleaning the freezer." Anny growled, then picked up the camera and shoved it into Double-N's arms, "I'm going to give that little loud mouth a piece of my mind and you're going to record it so we can show everyone just how big a brat Sam really is and their parents will ship him to some military school or China or something." She seethed, then dragged Double-N by the arm, passing Jamie as they walked toward the front door, Anny tells her to, "Move it twerp."

"Excuse us, Jamie." Double-N says as she moves the camera so it's facing her as she cleans the lens while she talks to Anny, Jamie can be seen in the background behind her.

"Don't you think a confrontation with Sam would be unwise, Anny? He could take it out on An."

Jaime looks at the two Ans, scowls at them and sticks out her tongue, then a tentacle wraps around her mouth and another grabs her by the waist and drags her towards the window, Jamie clawing at the ground as she's dragged away.

"I'm going to beat the snot out of that little twerp before he even has a chance of laying a finger on An." Anny snapped. Double-N moves the camera so it shows the back of Anny's head as they walk towards An's front door.

Then they hear Jamie scream, the two Ans spin around, looking for where the scream came from.

"What the heck was that?" Anny asked, a little fear in her voice.

"It sounded like Jamie." Double-N said, the camera beginning to shake. Anny stiffened with anger, "That little brat's got his little girlfriend to try and scare us, huh?" Anny growled. She then cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted, "NICE TRY JAMIE! BUT YOU AND SAM ARE GOING TO HAVE TO DO BETTER THEN THAT TO KEEP AN AWAY FROM US!" she then continued to stomp up to An's front door and walked inside. Anny leading the way with authority and rage, she stomped in front of the kitchen and made her way inside as she shouted, "HEY SAM, WE'RE GOING TO HANG OUT WITH AN WHETHER YOU LIKE IT OR…" she suddenly looked confused, "Not?" Double-N moved the camera so they could see that the kitchen was empty.

"If they're not in An's room or in the kitchen, where could they be?" Double-N asked, concerned for An's well being.

"Maybe she snuck out of the kitchen and hid somewhere?" Anny suggested.

The brothers watched as the girls went through every room in the house, but had not found any sign of An.

"Well, now where do we look?" Double-N asked upset that they couldn't find An anywhere in her house. She put the camera on Anny who was deep in thought.

"Maybe she ran to one of our houses?" Anny tried, "I mean, I would if I had that nasty little twerp as a brother."

"Alright, shall we check your house first, seeing as it's closer?" Double-N asked.

"Yeah, sure, but she better not be touching my sister's stuff." Anny said. They walked through the street, nearly being run over by Karen, who was rushing towards Nate's house, her make up case in her hand.

"Move it, dorks!" Karen snapped, pushing Anny and Double-N over as she passed, the camera tilted a bit as Double-N fell over, so it showed the front of Nate's house, where Nate was now scowling at the approaching Karen and he began telling her off for pushing them like that. The girls picked themselves up, grumbling as they lifted up the camera. A dark shadow appeared from behind Nate, the brothers couldn't make out much from the distance besides that it had red glowing eyes and lots of tentacles. Karen looked up at if fearfully and pointed, only for two tentacles to wrap around their mouths and whisk them way with a roar. Anny and Double-N grabbed each other, the camera suddenly underneath their faces from their sudden embrace.

"W-what was that?" Double-N asked.

"I-I don't know." Anny replied, "But we need to find An, _fast._" Double-N nodded and they hurried to Anny's house. They searched through the whole house, but didn't find An there either.

"Maybe she ran to your house?" Anny said nervously, "I mean, since she's not here." "Yes, let's check my house." Double-N agreed, the camera shaking in her hands.

They passed Jenny and Plankette who cheerfully greeted the Ans as they passed, the girls gave brief polite replies, Double-N found some dirt on her skirt, and put the camera down, crying, "Messy! Messy! Messy!" While she was concerned about possible stains, the camera captured picked up Jenny being snatched up by another tentacle, dropping Plankette onto the ground, another roar sounded, Anny picked up the camera and pointed it at her.

"Come on, you can do laundry later, let's find An." she said, her voice filled with fear and potential panic. Double-N nodded fearfully and Anny handed the camera back to her as they continued towards Double-N's house.

"AN GIRLS!" Rachel shouted, the girls stopped and the camera showed Rachel stomping up angrily, "WHERE ARE RACHEL'S CHICKENS?" she demanded.

"Chickens?" they said in unison, confused.

"Yes, Rachel's chickens are missing." She looked and saw that they were missing an An, "Where is the Bunt-Cake-for-Brains-An girl?" she asked them.

"We have no idea." Anny admitted bitterly.

"We've been looking for her all over the cul-de-sac. Rachel, if you see her, will you make sure to contact us and tell us if she's alright?" Double-N asked. Rachel picked up the worry in both girls' voices and said, "You can count on the Daughter of a Shepherd!" Rachel said, giving them an Urban Rangers salute.

"Thank you, Rachel!" Double-N called as she and Anny continued to her house, Double-N stopped to tie her shoes, with Anny calling back to her, "Why'd you stop?"

"My shoe's untied." She replied.

"Well hurry up! We need to find An!" Anny snapped

"Alright Anny." Double-N said. Double-N must have tucked the camera under her arm, because she held the camera upside down and facing behind her, so camera was aimed back at Rachel, who was quickly snatched by the monster, along with a few chickens, allowing the Kanker Brothers to see the monster for the first time.

It was a grayish color with a multicolored spotted belly. It had tentacles for limbs and a little thing to help hold up it's head at the back of it's neck. There were horns that curved towards it's reptilian face, and it had red hair poking out from the back of it's head.

"That's An?" Jay asked, amazed. Anny and Double-N nodded solemnly, their eyes still on the bathroom door.

"Whoa." Larie said, amazed.

"Holy crap." Tee muttered as Monster An slithered away with great speed and agility, Rachel and her chickens in tentacles. Double-N turned the camera around again as she and Anny searched her house for An.

Again, they came up with nothing.

"Maybe we should ask one of the other kids if they've seen her?" Double-N suggested. Anny nodded. They explored the cul-de-sac, slowly discovering that everyone else was gone.

"Where is everyone?" Anny snapped. Double-N looked around and tripped, the camera tumbling with her.

"Are you okay, Sock head?" Anny asked she dashed closer to Double-N and the camera, looking past the camera to see if her friend was okay.

"Yes." Double-N said, although her tone said otherwise. "I believe I tripped over something…" Anny's face contorted into a concerned expression, "Is that Plankette?" she asked, picking up the camera and pointing it at Double-N, who lifted the plank of wood off the ground and into the air.

"It appears so…" she said, looking around worriedly, "But, where's Jenny?" while Double-N looked around, Plankette was wrapped by a tentacle in the camera.

"Um, Ann?" Anny said in a soft voice. Double-N looked at the tentacle and opened her mouth to scream only for Anny to quickly cover her mouth. The tentacle yanked Plankette from her hand and pulled it away.

"Follow that tentacle!" Anny whispered. Double-N nodded and the two girls huffed and puffed behind the camera as the tentacle slipped through the cul-de-sac and went through An's window. Anny put the camera up to her face, "If you find this camera and we're not around. Run." She said, "Don't try to find us, just _run_."

They put the camera by the window as they looked inside.

"Whoa." Anny muttered.

Every kid in the cul-de-sac was stuck to the wall in An's room, and all of Rachel's missing chickens, with Plankette as the monster's next victim. Monster An bit into a box of Chunky Puffs and chewed it up, then coated the wood with half-chewed Chunky Puffs and stuck her in the wall next to Jenny.

"That's disgusting!" Double-N whispered as Anny chuckled.

"I know!" Anny giggled, "It's hilarious!"

The boys chuckled a bit at that, it was kind of funny to see their girls' tormentors stuck to a wall with half chewed Chunky Puffs.

"Anny! This is serious! We've turned sweet, gentle An into a monster!"

"How did we do that?" Anny asked.

"We did it by giving An, who has the wildest imagination and who has difficulties differing fantasy and reality on a normal basis, a monster costume and allowed her to run rampant!"

"Sam knocked us out and kicked us out! If it's anyone's fault, it's his!" Anny argued.

"We can debate about who is to blame later, right now we need to save the others."

"Are you kidding, if they find out that the monster is An, they'll kill us!"

"And if we don't save them, Anny, An could hurt them, and she'd never forgive herself if she did that."

They were quiet for a moment, then Anny sighed, "Fine. But if they threaten to hurt An, I'm taking you two out of there and leaving them stuck to the wall." She said, they then moved the camera and walked back into An's house. They crept down the stairs, both girls shaking as they tried not to make a sound. Double-N led the way, her knees shaking like mad, Anny held the camera and walked behind her.

Double-N stepped down a step, making a creak sound. Both girls froze, horrified as a terrifying roar shook the floorboards. Monster An slipped out and grabbed a frightened Double-N by the waist, "ANNY!" she screamed, reaching for the camera, Anny's hand came from behind the camera, "HANG ON, SOCK HEAD!" she shouted, grabbing her hand. The two Ans were then yanked into An's room, screaming.

An looked down at her friends and roared, Double-N scowled at her, "I'VE HAD JUST ABOUT ENOUGH OF THIS NONSENSE!" she shouted back, surprising everyone else.

"PUT US DOWN THIS INSTANT!" she ordered.

Monster An stared at her for a minute, confused, then scowled and roared even louder back at Double-N, who looked disgusted, "GOOD LORD!" she cried, then covered her nose and mouth with her hand. "Stinky, stinky, stinky!" she chanted.

Anny passed the camera to Double-N, who grabbed it with her free hand, "OKAY, I'M DONE WITH THIS!" Anny shouted, then leapt up and snatched the head off of An's costume, as she was about to roar again, her eyes were red and angry, the Kankers were surprised how scary An was at that moment. They had _never _seen her that _mad_ before, Jay looked at her, a little scared, he was glad he had never gotten onto her bad side… But he also was a _little_ turned on by how powerful and scary she got when she was really angry. He then stopped for a second, letting that sink in…

'I've spent _way_ too much time with Larie back when he was the local perv.' Jay thought.

As soon as the head was off, An's eyes returned to normal and she looked around confused. She saw her friends and a smile grew on her face, "Hi guys!" she said happily.

"An…" Sam growled, the Ans and the camera turned to look at the other kids in the cul-de-sac, looking _pissed._

"IT WAS YOU THIS WHOLE TIME!?" he then shouted, then glared at the other two Ans, "AND YOU TWO KNEW?"

"YEAH, WE WERE GOING TO MAKE A MONSTER MOVIE STARRING THE THREE OF US, UNTIL YOU HAD TO COME IN AND MESS EVERYTHING UP!" Anny shouted back, "IF YOU HAD JUST LEFT US ALONE, AN WOULDN'T HAVE GONE BERSERK AND ATTACKED EVERYONE!" Everyone looked at Sam, who then scowled back at Anny and said, "I'M NOT THE ONE WHO ATTACKED EVERYONE!"

"YOU MIGHT AS WELL HAVE!" Double-N finally shouted back, "IF YOU HADN'T BEEN SUCH A BRUTE, WE COULD'VE KEPT AN UNDER CONTROL, OR AT LEAST HAVE ENDED THIS A LOT SOONER!"

"YEAH, WELL, WHOSE FAULT IS IT THAT AN WAS IN THAT STUPID COSTUME IN THE FIRST PLACE?" He asked. The Ans looked at each other, then Anny said, "Fine, we'll admit that, but only because we're bigger people then you are." Sam scoffed at that, looking at Anny.

Anny scowled at him, "You know what? Just for that, we're leaving all of you up there." She snapped, "Come on, girls, lets go to my house." Then turned off the camera.

The boys looked at them.

"We had gotten one of the worst beatings of our entire lives because of that day." Double-N said.

"And all because Sam had to be a douche." Anny said grimly.

"Anny, we're not faultless in this." Double-N said sternly.

"Yeah, but if he hadn't knocked us out, we could've kept her under control, after all, it was only _after_ Sam hurt us that An had gone berserk." Anny pointed out. Double-N thought about it, then nodded.

"But the past doesn't matter right now." Double-N said, "What I want to know is how An found it again."

Larie and Tee looked at Jay, who began to slowly pull himself into a little ball.

"Um…" Jay squeaked, "I might have found it by accident on Sunday…" Anny and Double-N looked at him, horrified.

"You did WHAT?" Anny demanded.

Jay held up his arms, surrendering, "I didn't know what was inside! I tripped and my face smacked into it, that's all! If I had any idea that costume was inside and what had happened, I would've tried to distract her or something until you guys could get it, honest!"

Anny lifted him up off the ground by the front of his jacket, "Do you have _any idea what horrors you've just unleashed on all of us by finding that stupid box_?"

"Anny!" Double-N said, "It's not his fault, and you know it!" Anny stiffened then put Jay down, "Sorry, Jay." She huffed, rubbing the back of her neck, "it's just…that stupid costume brings back a lot of bad memories."

Double-N nodded, "We should've hid it better."

"Yeah, seriously." Tee said, "You hid it in _her own __**room**_?"

"Look at this place." Anny said, her arms out wide, "We've lost_ tons_ of stuff in this room for _years_ and still haven't found all of it." The Kankers looked around An's train wreck of a bedroom.

"She's got a point, Tee." Larie said.

"So how are we going to keep An from going on another rampage?" Jay asked, fearful that someone would hurt An, or vise versa.

"You saw the video, An stopped once the head was off." Anny said, "Take off the mask and An's back to normal again." The brothers nodded. Double-N tapped Anny on the shoulder as the knob on the bathroom door turned. Anny nodded, "Ready, Sock head?"

"Of course not." She said, "But I did bring this, just in case." Double-N pulled out two bottles of dish soap and handed one to her.

"Good thinking." Anny said, then they both looked towards the door as An came out in her monster attire.

Apparently An had modified her costume so it would fit her again, because it was bigger then before and her long red hair flowed from the back of the head, her glasses were perched on the monster's face. An roared and charged at her friends with alarming speed, snatching them up before they could even use the soap, in fact, they were snatched up so fast that they had dropped them in shock and the bottles laid useless on the floor. The Kankers looked at the girls, their eyes wide, but stood there, their faces strained with worry.

What could they do? If they tried to save Anny and Double-N, they could hurt An, but if they didn't, An could hurt Anny and Double-N.

Monster An brought her friends up to eye level, her friends cowering in her grasp.

"Hi guys!" she said cheerfully, still sounding like herself, "Like it?" she asked, twirling around with her friends still in her tentacles, "I fixed up the costume you guys made for me!" she said, "It's my favorite!" Double-N and Anny looked shocked, then looked at each other in awe that An was still herself, then smiled at her.

"You scared us, Lumpy!" Anny said, relieved that An was still in control of her actions.

"I did?" she asked, excitedly, pleased that her costume was scary enough to scare her best friends, who _made_ the costume.

"You certainly did, An." Double-N agreed, "You might want to be careful at the party, even though it's Halloween, you still wouldn't want to scare anyone too badly."

An nodded vigorously, then looked at the boxes then at her friends, who were still in the same clothes they had been wearing before she entered the bathroom, "You haven't put on your costumes yet." She noticed, a little hurt.

"Yes, well, we were so anxious to see what you were going to be, our costumes must have completely slipped our minds." Double-N said.

"Yeah, no kidding." Anny muttered.

Monster An smiled, "I'll help you put them on!" she cried, then lifted her friends up into the air and began taking off their clothes.

Jay gasped and covered his eyes while Larie and Tee watched with wide eyes and even wider smiles.

"Best." Tee whispered.

"Halloween." Larie continued.

"Ever!" They said in unison. Then Double-N's turtleneck plopped down onto Larie's head and Anny's jeans flopped onto Tee's. They pulled the clothes off their heads, once they discovered what they were, their smiles grew larger and their faces burned red.

"An!" Double-N cried, trying to keep one of An's tentacles from pulling her skirt further down her legs then she already had while trying to cover her chest, "Stop! The boys are still down here!"

"Seriously, Lumpy!" Anny shouted, trying to cover up her lower half while An was yanking off her tank top, "Even _your_ _boyfriend_'s still down here!"

An didn't reply, she didn't even seem to really hear them, she just stripped them to their underwear, throwing their clothes onto the Kankers again, and began to put their costumes on.

Larie happily clutched his girlfriend's clothes to his chest while he watched An hold Double-N up in her underwear by her wrists for Larie to _burn_ into his memory.

Double-N scowled at him, her face red and tears in the corners of her eyes, "LARIE KANKER, YOU COVER YOUR EYES THIS INSTANT!" she cried out. Larie smiled up her, then frowned when he realized how upset and embarrassed she was and reluctantly covered his eyes with his hands. He left _just_ enough of a crack in his fingers so he could still peep with his right eye as Monster An spun Double-N and wrapped her with bandages.

An finally spun Double-N into Larie's arms when she was finished. Double-N wobbled in his arms, wrapped from head to toe in bandages like a mummy. Only, unlike a mummy, her nose and eyes were free of any bandages (except for one across the bridge of her nose) and she was wrapped in a way that would allow her to move freely. And there was a swirl of bandages that hung around her body, un-moving. Her hair was wrapped in bandages and braided, making sure that hardly any of Double-N was showing from under the cloth.

Just Larie's luck.

His girl's costume was all bandages and instead of being like the girl from _Fifth Element _or something sexy and alluring, she was more covered then ever before.

She was still unsteady on her feet, so Larie held her close to help her steady herself. That's when he discovered that, despite how the costume looked, the bandages themselves were actually pretty thin and they clung to every curve of her body, he could actually _feel_ where the hooks in her bra were. He smiled, "Hot Damn." He whispered as he felt his woozy girlfriend cling to him as she tried to stand on her own two feet without falling over. He pulled her close, smiling at the fact that only a thin layer of easily removable bandages kept him from holding his girl in her underwear, "I've got you, Muffin." He said softly, pressing his forehead against hers as he made a mental note to thank An when Double-N wasn't around.

"Thank you, Larie." Double-N said, still dizzy from An spinning her like a top and grateful that he was holding her steady and being so good about covering his eyes while An had 'helped' her change.

Anny was next, An held her up by her wrists too, Tee looked up at her, his eye bright with glee.

Anny scowled at him, her face red and she was fighting tears as well, "You're seriously _enjoying this_?" she demanded. Tee then bit his lip and shook his head, then covered his eyes with his hands. He heard Anny cry out and tell An to "Knock it off!" and to "Let go of me, An!" Finally the room was silent. Tee kept his hands up over his eyes, not wanting to piss Anny off, "Can I look now?" he asked. Anny said nothing.

"Anny?" he called.

"Do what you want!" she snapped, embarrassed. Tee kept his eyes covered for a minute, then slowly moved his hands. Anny's face was bright red, Tee could now see the reason why.

The leather clothing was similar to her normal clothes, only they seemed to be what she would wear if she was born a Viking… only the helmet merely framed her face and kept her hair back and the blouse had a low v-neck and the skirt had slits up the side. The armor was stacked on top of the leather, making Anny go from Viking chic to Amazon Warrior Chick from space, complete with a fake sword. Her pink hair flowed gracefully down her armored shoulders. Overall, the costume was very form fitting and odd, but Tee was _definitely_ enjoying the form under that costume. He said nothing and just stared at her, his face as red as his hair and his mouth wide open in shock.

"What?" she demanded, embarrassed and upset. Tee tried to speak, but the best he could do was squeak, "Damn!"

Anny jerked her head back, confused, "Tee?" she called cautiously, gently poking him with her sword, he didn't budge, all he did was stare at her, a big smile plastered on his bright red face. He let out a deep happy sigh that made Anny blush.

"Tee?" she asked again, poking him with her sword again. "Tee…" she poked him again, a little drool was beginning to slip out of his mouth.

"TEE!" she shouted, grabbing him and shaking him, "SNAP OUT OF IT!" But Tee was still out of it.

"We've got it, Anny." Larie said, Double-N now stable, he grabbed Jay's hands and pulled them off his face, "The girls are dressed, now help me with Tee." He said, walking towards their older brother. Jay looked at him, confused, "What do you mean help you with…" he stopped speaking once he saw his red-haired brother.

"Oh!" he said, then followed Larie over to Tee, who was now drooling all over himself like an idiot. The brothers nodded at one another, then put their fingers in their mouths, pulled them out, dripping with saliva.

"Ready, Jay?" Larie asked, a smirk crawling up his face.

"Ready, Larie." Jay snickered.

They looked at their older brother.

"At the count of three?" Larie asked his younger brother. Jay nodded, then said, "One."

"Two." Larie continued.

"Three!" the boys said in unison, then shoved their slobber-covered fingers into Tee's ears.

Tee's eyes suddenly widened in realization of what just happened, his face went from happy and love-struck to horrified and disgusted. He swatted at his chuckling brother's hands, "THE FUCK!" he shouted as his brothers laughed at him.

"Sorry, Tee." Jay said, snickering.

"I'm not!" Larie informed him, tears of laughter slipping down his cheeks, Tee flipped him off.

"What the fuck was that for?" he demanded.

"You were totally out of it." Larie said, pointing to the drool on his shirt. Tee looked down at his clothes and saw that they were soaking wet. He turned an even deeper shade of red, and glanced up at Anny then down at his sneakers.

He was so embarrassed!

Anny couldn't help but feel a little proud of herself for making him react like that, but she also felt a little bad for him, she sighed and smiled at him, "Dumbass." She said warmly. Tee glanced back up at her again, then noticed her smiling knowing and gave an embarrassed smile back, "Uh, yeah… nice costume." He said bashfully.

"No shit." She said, trying not to laugh. Tee steamed as his face turned the same color as his hair again.

Double-N walked up her boyfriend, "Was that truly necessary?" she asked him. Larie shrugged, smirking, "He needed to snap out of it, I couldn't think of anything else." She rolled her eyes, then stared at him as if to say, ' oh really?' He smirked at her and asked, "Although, the way An helped you two change, can you blame him?" Larie couldn't see her face (besides her nose and eyes) but he could still tell she was blushing under her bandages, "Did you peek?" she asked, sounding upset.

"Me?" he asked her, looking hurt, "Nah, Muffin. I'm not stupid. I wouldn't risk our relationship just for a peek at you when you're most vulnerable." He said, pulling her close and intertwining his fingers with hers, Double-N smiled through her bandages and gave him a kiss on the lips. Larie kissed her back, wishing the stupid bandage wasn't in the way, but grateful that Double-N believed him. He was going to have to _seriously_ learn how to control his urges if he didn't want to screw up his relationship with Ann.

"Besides." Larie purred, pulling her close, "You're my _girlfriend_, I'll probably see it all eventually anyway, so there's no rush." Double-N blushed again, but said nothing.

Tee, Jay and Anny rolled their eyes but kept their mouths shut as well, not knowing what to say to Larie's comment. Suddenly Monster An grabbed Jay and pulled him up to her eye level by his ankle, "You need help with your costume too, Jay?" she asked him, Jay looked back down to her friends, nervous.

While Larie and Tee might have enjoyed the Ans' little strip tease, he didn't think he could handle An seeing him in only his underwear.

"I think I'm good An…" But she hadn't really heard him, she stripped off his jacket and his shirt, revealing his tattoo. It was An's name in what looked exactly like her handwriting. Monster An stared at it for a second, reading it, "Hey! That's my name!" she said cheerfully, then looked at Jay, confused, "Why is my name on your back, Jay?" she asked him.

"Uh, I had it tattooed there a while ago." He said, rubbing the back of his neck, "Um, I did it because I…"

"It's a tattoo?" she repeated, amazed that he had one, even though he had told her as much a few days ago, "Didn't it hurt?" she asked him, concerned.

"A little." He admitted, "But it was for you so…" Monster An removed the head of her costume, revealing An looking touched and happy.

"YOU'RE SO SWEET!" she cried, pulling him into a hug, Jay turned red and steam whistled out of his ears as his usual goofy grin slid up his cheeks.

"You've gotta be shitting me." Tee said in disbelief.

"An actually likes that?" Larie asked Double-N and Anny. The girls looked at each other for a second, looking thoughtful, trying to think of the best way to explain why An would be happy about it.

"So girls actually _like it_ when…" Tee began.

"No." Anny and Double-N cut him off.

"Most girls would be frightened off by the sight of that." Double-N explained, "It shows a level of devotion to the relationship that, unless the girl in question is _married_ to the individual or soon _will be_ married to them, the girl will most likely be uncomfortable with. Especially if the relationship has been as brief as theirs."

"Yeah, lucky for Jay, Lumpy's not that bright and is totally head-over-heels for him." Anny said, "Or she might run off screaming like she did when we were kids."

The four of them glanced at An and Jay, who were making out, which was gross enough when they were in their normal clothes, but with An wearing something with _tentacles_…

Well, no one had to see much hentai to know that the sight was unpleasant to say the least.

Larie held Double-N close, pulling her head into his chest and covering it on both sides with his arms to block the unpleasant sight from entering his beloved girlfriend's eyes, his own eyes shut tight as she hugged back, fearful of whatever nasty things An and Jay were doing to each other.

Anny and Tee covered each other's eyes with their hands, wishing they could somehow cover their ears too so they could block out the sounds they were hearing that would most likely give them nightmares.

"AN!" Sam cried as he opened the door, then stopped as soon as he saw what was happening. His eyes widened and his face went from his normal annoyed look to a face of pure disgust. Tee, Anny, Larie and Double-N looked at him, surprised at his loud, and rather rude, entrance. "AHHHHHHH!" he screamed at the sight, running up the steps as fast as he could, tripping again on the third step and crawling on all fours until he was safely upstairs, still screaming.

Tee and Larie cracked up, happy that Sam would probably be shivering and haunted by what he had just seen for a long time. It might not make up for the beating he gave the Ans back when they were younger, but the fact that he'd probably need some serious therapy made them smile.

"KNOCK SAM!" An shouted from behind the others before going back to making out with her boyfriend.

All four of them burst out laughing at that, tears trickling down their cheeks as they chuckled. They had no idea _why_ that had been so funny to them, it just _was_.

Then Jay's pants landed in front of them.

"Huh?" Tee and Larie said as they bent down to inspect the bright red shorts on the ground, then stared at it in horror for a moment before backing away, disturbed, and the four of them dashed out of An's room, slamming the door behind them and leaning against it, panting heavily.

They were quiet for a moment.

"An's not gonna help us with our costumes too, is she?" Larie asked Double-N.

"Considering that we left both yours and Tee's costumes in An's room, it's definitely a possibility, Larie." She replied softly. He grabbed her hand nervously, anxious that An might strip him down to his underwear. Larie was okay with only _one_ An stripping him, and that was his girlfriend, Ann, with _two_ Ns, any other girl and he'd run away if he didn't knock her out first. Double-N looked at him warmly and gently slipped her fingers between his, "It'll be fine, we'll give them a few minutes, then knock. We'll gather both of your costumes and you two can change at my house if they're still at it." She said, her tone comforting and calm. Larie smiled at her gratefully and gave her hand a squeeze.

"I don't know about you two, but I'm not going back in there." Tee said plainly.

"Because you don't want An to help you change or because you think An's room is gross or because you don't want to see whatever their doing in there?" Anny asked.

"Yes." Tee said, nodding. Anny nudged him, "You're going to need to be more specific, dumbass." She said, smiling at him and making his face burn, "All of the above." He clarified, turning pink. She nodded, chuckling.

Then An's father came down to the basement, tripping on the third step and swearing as he righted himself and murmuring how he really needed to fix that damn step, much to the teens' dismay. Not about him fixing the step, they had all tripped on it too and wanted it to be fixed as well, but about the fact that An's dad had come home early and was coming down to see them. They all knew Jay wasn't allowed to be in An's room unless she was in danger, and now it seemed that_ Jay _would soon be the one in danger.

He looked at Anny and Double-N, then he saw the Tee and Larie, his eyes widened in alarm when he noticed that An and Jay were missing.

"Where's my daughter?" He growled.

"Uh, in her room?" Anny replied nervously.

"Indeed, she's retrieving the boys' costumes." Double-N lied, which was unlike her to do, but she was trying to prevent a murder here.

"So where is Jay?" He asked.

"Um…" The two Ans looked to one another, unsure what to say. An's father stomped to the door and kicked it open, revealing An, back in her normal clothes, helping Jay who was wearing a furred body suit, put on boots that had one long claw coming out of if it. Its fur was similar to his hair, blonde and floppy, and he had a gray half shirt over his furred torso, on his back were what looked like furry birthday hats with long blonde hair flopping off of it, it was located near the middle of his upper back. He had a long blonde tail that flowed almost all the way down to the floor, stopping about three inches from his feet so he wouldn't trip in the boots.

An looked at her dad, "Hi Dad!" she said cheerfully. Jay turned pale at the sight of her dad, "Hello, sir." He said nervously, "An was helping me with my costume." He explained, sweat pouring down his neck.

An's dad glared at him and inspected his daughter, she seemed fine, she had no marks, her hair was messy, but normal messy not make-out messy, she had no hickies or anything like that, she seemed completely normal. He looked at Jay, who was shaking as he glared down at him, but he wasn't any more nervous then usual, nor did he look guilty. He growled at Jay and looked at his daughter, then smiled, "It's nice, sweetie." He said, then kissed the top of her head, he then walked out to her friends, who gave him wide, nervous smiles, "Anny. Ann. Why was the door closed?"

"They were trying to make it a surprise." Anny said quickly, grateful that she had come up with a convincing story, "Tee and Larie are dressing up as the same kind of alien, so they wanted to do a big dramatic thing where they revealed what his costume looked like so the guys would see what their costumes would look like."

"Yes, An instructed him to change into the body suit in her bathroom then asked the rest of us to wait out here until they were done." Double-N fibbed.

He stared the two down, then glared at Larie and Tee, then Jay.

An's mom called down to him, asking him what he was doing down there. She hopped downstairs, tripping on the third one like everyone else had and told An's dad that he needed to fix that step, then looked at Anny and Double-N grinning nervously, then Tee and Larie, who were frozen in place. She then looked into her daughter's room, where she saw the two and then looked at her husband, "Honestly!" she scolded, "She's just helping him with his costume!" she shook her head, "You know how hard they worked on it!" He looked from his scowling wife and to his daughter, who was now reaching into a box and pulling out gloves that resembled blonde clawed paws. Her eyes wide with excitement as she helped him put on the costume with care. He grunted, "Fine."

He then stomped upstairs, stood on the second one, then looked back down at the boys, "But I'm watching you three, and rest assured that their fathers are too." He said, pointing to Anny and Double-N, then tripped on the third step, swore, then went upstairs, fuming.

An's mom sighed, then looked at her daughter and Jay, "Sorry about that you two!" she said, An and Jay waved it off and smiled at her. She then looked at Anny and Double-N, "Sorry about that girls, you know how he gets when it comes to his little girl…" the two nodded. She then looked to Larie and Tee, "And don't worry about what he said, boys, he's just got worked up by Sam running and screaming from down here.

"We were watching a scary movie before hand." Tee said, "That might have done it."

"Yeah," Larie agreed, nodding vigorously, "The monster had just revealed itself when he came down."

An's mother shook her head, "Honestly, that boy is so jumpy." She sighed, then smiled at them, "Well, anyway, An said there was a Halloween Party at school tonight, so have fun!" she said, then hopped back up the steps, skipping over the third one, ready to tear her son and husband a new one for thinking An and Jay were doing something kinky when their friends and brothers were right outside!

The four outside An's room let out a sigh of relief and An gave her boyfriend a kiss on the cheek before shoving the head of his costume on.

The monster cat thing 'Stardust' or whatever it was called, had freckled ears and freckles on it's cheeks, it had the same yellow fur as the rest of the costume, both eyes were visible and it had two fangs sticking out of the front. It certainly looked fierce and dangerous. Larie and Tee walked into the room and circled their brother, looking at the costume from it's blonde head all the way down to it's single toed feet.

"Not bad." They said in unison. An clapped gleefully, her smile was wide and full of pride.

"Now you two can change!" she said, indicating the boxes on the floor.

"Yeah, we'll get right on that." Tee assured her.

"Yeah, we got this!" Larie agreed.

An pointed to her bathroom and instructed them to strip to their underwear and put on the body suits. Double-N whispered to them as they passed her and Anny on their way to An's bathroom, "Try not to touch much in there and for your sakes, don't go near her tub!"

"Also if you see something moving, unless it's a chicken, kill it." Anny added. The boys looked at them, alarmed, but kept walking to the bathroom, costumes in hand, wondering how bad it could really be... And why An would have chickens in her bathroom. (Author: 'Cause she loves chickens, guys)

As soon as they opened the door, they felt their stomachs churn. The bathroom was _brown_ in color, but could tell that it _hadn't always been brown_ and it smelled as if it had never been cleaned since it's creation. But considering that it was _An's_ bathroom, they probably should've known. But still, even for An, this place was completely _disgusting_.

Now, the boy's bathroom at home wasn't exactly the cleanest place either, but at least they could see into their mirror and touch things in there without needing tetanus shot. They cautiously put the boxes down on the ground, wincing at the squishing sound and trying not to throw up as Larie tossed his jacket and shirt into his box while Tee nearly ripped his own shirt as he quickly got it off his body and dumped it into his own box to try and put the stupid body suit on and get out of this nasty-ass place as soon as freaking possible. As soon as the boys were shirtless and Tee had unzipped his jeans to throw them in with his shirt, they heard something moving behind the curtain to An's bathroom.

"W-what is that?" Larie asked, feeling a chill crawl down his spine despite the humid, muggy air in An's bathroom as something moved past the curtain.

Tee glanced at the curtain, sweat pouring down his neck, remembering what Anny had said, 'if you see something moving in there… kill it.' He pulled his pocket knife out of his pocket and flicked the blade out, ready to strike, "I dunno, but I'm gonna find out." Larie grabbed his brother's shoulder, "No! Remember what Double-N said? We shouldn't go near An's tub!" They both suddenly heard a clucking sound from behind the curtain, they paused, confused.

"Did that curtain just cluck?" Tee asked Larie in disbelief. Larie nodded, just as concerned as Tee was that they heard a clucking noise from An's tub. They stared at it, stunned, then they heard a knock at the door, "Are you two alright in there?" Double-N asked. Larie smiled, relieved that it was his girlfriend and not An, "Uh, kinda, there's something clucking in An's tub…" Suddenly two brown blurs flew from behind the curtain and towards Tee and Larie, the creatures letting out loud cries as they soared towards them.

The door to An's bathroom slammed open and two shots of a clearish green liquid flew out and hit the two screeching creatures before they reached the boys, launching them back into the wall, the green liquid dissolving the brown coating on the creatures, revealing them to be…

"Are those…chickens?" Tee asked, completely and utterly astounded.

"Yeah, sorry about that, An kind of uses her bathroom as sort of a chicken hotel." Anny explained, holding the bottle of liquid soap from before in her hands, open and ready to shoot down more brown chickens from hell. Tee looked at her in disbelief, he thought she had been kidding about the chickens!

"Are you both alright?" Double-N asked, then shot another chicken with her own bottle of soap as it shot out from the curtain.

"Hot Damn." Larie said, impressed at how badass his girl could be with just a bottle of fucking dish soap.

"Perhaps you two should get dressed out here where it's a little more sanitary and we'll leave the room until you're finished changing into the body suits, then we'll help you put on the rest of your costumes?" Double-N suggested as she and Anny shot a few more brown chickens.

"Hurry up!" Anny cried. "We can't hold them off forever!" The boys quickly kicked the boxes out of An's bathroom and dashed out, the girls covering them from the chicken barrage from An's bathtub with shots of dish soap, then slamming the door behind them once the boys were safely outside with their costumes. They saw Jay move around in the costume for An, who clapped as he pounced around her room on all fours, pleased at his monster-like movements and how well the costume moved with them.

"Thanks." His brothers said in unison, Tee put the blade back into the knife and slipped it into his pocket, then he walked up to Anny, "What the fuck was that in there?" he asked, bewildered and confused about what had just happened.

"You mean besides the nastiest place on the planet?" she asked, looking a little amused, but also a little guilty, "Yeah, An has a bathtub full of gravy back there, she brings chickens back there to bathe in it with her sometimes. Sorry, we should have never let you guys try to change in there…" she then gave him a smirk, "But it luckily they didn't attack before you took off your pants." She snickered. He looked down at himself and blushed as she chuckled a bit, she then pushed his hair off his face and looked at him warmly, "I'm glad you're okay, though." She said softly before shoving it back into his face to watch it burn brightly. She couldn't help but smile, teasing and flirting with him was kinda fun, much to her surprise.

"Are you alright, Larie?" Double-N asked fretfully, Larie smiled proudly at her, "Yeah, thanks to your kick ass aim, where did you even learn how to do that?" he asked her. She turned pink, "Yes, well, when you've been friends with An for as long as Anny and I have, you learn how to shoot soap with great accuracy." She said bashfully. Larie moved the bandage over her mouth down and pulled her into a deep kiss that made her melt into his arms. After a few minutes he finally pulled away, smiling at his girlfriend's crimson face as she panted cutely, trying to catch her breath. He licked his lips, ready to go back in, only for Anny to call for her so he and Tee could change, An standing behind her and calling out, "Come on, Double-N!" with a smile and a wave. Double-N told her friends that she'd be with them shortly, then gave him a soft, brief kiss on the lips, a loving smile, then pulled the bandage back over her mouth and walked over to her friends so they could change, giving him a little wave as she left.

Larie waved back, a goofy smile plastered on his face as he sighed happily, Tee looked between his blue-haired brother and Double-N, then shook his head and smiled. Larie had been after Double-N's virginity for_ years_, but looking at his brother now, he could tell that he was just as happy and satisfied as Jay was with just getting hugs and kisses from his girl. He was _still_ aiming for her virginity, but the guy was in no rush to get there.

The girls left them in An's room, but left them their soap bottles, "Just in case." Anny and Double-N had said in unison. Tee and Larie kept the bottles close as they changed quickly into the body suits. Jay looking confused that the girls would leave them soap for no reason. Since he had been showing off how his costume moved for An, he had completely missed his brothers running out of his girlfriend's bathroom from the gravy-covered chickens that the other two Ans had stopped with dish soap.

They informed the girls once they had finished changing for them to help put the gloves and boots on, they left the heads off until they'd get to the school tonight, Jay removed his for the time being, deciding that he put his head back on when his brothers put theirs on. An came back in with her costume on, the head was gone, since she too, had decided to wait until they got to the party to put it on as well.

The six of them hung out in An's room and watched one of her old movies until it was dark out, since it would take forever to take off their costumes then put them back on before it got dark, they left them on and just resigned to relaxing and watching a movie. Well, it was more like Anny and Tee watched the movie. Larie and Double-N got up and moved into a different part of An's room so they could snuggle without disrupting the movie about twenty minutes in. An and Jay started kissing halfway through the film, then they too, got up and moved so Anny and Tee could watch the crappy old film in awkward silence for a bit, Tee kept looking over at Anny, who wondered how An could like the crappy film they were watching. An hour in, he glanced around to find his brothers.

He had found An and Jay making out on her bed, An sitting in his lap and their arms, well tentacles and claws, wrapped around each other's necks. Tee then quickly averted his gaze, disturbed, thinking, 'welp, I found Jay.' He then glanced around for Larie, who he found not to far from An's bed. He and his girlfriend were sitting against the wall, in a cleaned spot, side by side, kissing. Double-N's hands gripping the fur on the front of his shoulders and Larie's arms circled around her back, pulling her in closer, their eyes were closed.

Tee was happy for them, but he felt as if he was the odd man out as he glanced at Anny. 'One of these brothers is not like the others', he thought bitterly. Jay and Larie had gathered up the courage to ask their girls out, and now look at them, happily swapping spit with their Ans while holding them in a tender embrace that the girls weren't trying to wriggle out of. Tee glanced back up at Anny and clenched his fists, this was no time to be a wuss, he needed to step up and ask his girl out. He opened his mouth to say her name, but nothing came out. He closed it, then tried again, but still, nothing. He tried one more time, then pouted a bit then went back to watching… Whatever this movie was called… Tee glanced at Anny, "I haven't been paying attention, do you know what the fuck is happening in this movie?" he asked her, then wondered why he couldn't say her name but he could ask if she knew anything about the stupid plot of the film they were watching.

"I've been paying attention and I still have no idea what the fuck is going on." Anny informed him, then looked over at him, "Why are we watching this again?" she asked, "I mean, the only people who probably give two shits about this thing are An and Jay and…" she glanced around for them, then quickly turned back to Tee when she finally spotted them, "they're making out over there." She said, pointing behind her with her thumb, trying to avoid looking at them again. Tee shrugged, then looked at the screen for a second, then back to Anny, a smile on his face, "Wanna put it on mute and dub our own voices in for the…" he stopped, putting on a thoughtful expression as the actors chatted amongst themselves and one of the women screamed and pointed to the window, "their not actors 'cause actors act and these people, well, don't. So should I call them victims?"

Anny snickered and said, "I think _we're_ the victims here." Tee started to crack up, "Yeah well, at least we don't have…" he pointed to the screen as the monster popped up on the screen, it was made up of fruits and vegetables, "What ever the fuck _that_ is supposed to be coming after us." Then the hero of the film, a man with a large mole on the side of his face, attempted to fight the produce aisle monster, "Whoa! Forget the produce!" he laughed, "They should be more concerned about the thing that latched itself to that guy's face!"

Anny burst out laughing, "Yeah! The V-8 monster there is probably trying to do the guy a favor and rip it off!" she agreed. They both laughed as they began making fun of the film, repeating the cheesy lines while waving their hands in the air as if they were panicking and making fun of the costumes and the awful wardrobes they had back when the film was made. Tee let the bitterness from earlier slip out his clawed feet. Even though he would've loved to be making out with Anny like his brothers were making out with their Ans, he was still pretty happy just hanging out and joking with her.

'And I still have all night to ask her out.' Tee reminded himself, his body starting to tingle with anticipation. 'This Halloween's gonna be one to remember!' he decided as he mimicked the actor on the screen while making a derp face, making Anny laugh so hard that tears trickled down her cheeks.

.

.

.

At about six o'clock, the sun finally set and the teens hopped into the Ans' retro van and drove to the party. Anny drove with Double-N in the passenger's seat beside her, since Double-N's costume, while revealing her eyes and allowing her to see, Double-N was worried that the bandages may hinder her vision on the road, Anny's costume allowed her to see the whole road without anything in the way. An, Jay, Larie and Tee sat in the back, mainly because they would look ridiculous in the front seat with Anny and the fact that their costumes had big masks that could also impair their vision, much like Double-N's bandages. They only gave An the second reason why when they were hopping into the van to leave, so they wouldn't hurt her feelings. Tee held Anny's sword, mainly because they didn't want to get pulled over for it and show everyone how ridiculous they looked, but partly because Tee wanted her to come to him as they hopped out, and what better way then to have a part of her costume with him?

When Anny informed them all that they had arrived at school, they all hopped out, the Kankers and An put their heads on and Anny got her sword from Tee. They walked towards the entrance of the school, "Lets go!" An cried eagerly from inside her costume, she then pushed the door, but it didn't open, she tried again.

"An!" Anny cried, trying not to laugh too hard. An looked at her.

"It's a pull door, An." Double-N reminded her, a little embarrassed that her friend tried to push a door open that she had, just hours earlier, pulled open to get inside. An seemed to process Double-N's words for a moment, then pulled it open, a proud smile on her face as the six of them made their way to the gym.

.

.

.

Karen glanced at the doors to the gym nervously, she was starting to have second thoughts about this plan…

After her freak out two weeks ago, she spent three days in a mental ward before she realized that no one was going to believe her, even with all the proof back at her home, she quickly pretended that she had just lost it so she could go back home and hopefully get some payback, not from the Ans' and Kankers' kids, who knows when they'd be born, but their parents were here now for the trashing…

Except she'd had no idea how she'd do that.

The Kankers had been able to kick her butt since they were kids and the Ans could do some serious damage when angered. It wasn't safe to just beat either side up, not when they could all easily thrash her on a one on one fight, except for Double-N, but she didn't need strength to win a fight, she used her giant brain to help her get even, and if that didn't work, Larie would take on any person who was stupid enough to threaten his girlfriend… Karen shook her head, she had been beaten up by four out of their five future kids (as well as their cousins) two weeks ago and it _still_ surprised her when she had found out the two were now a couple.

Anyway, she had been feeling annoyed and angry that she had no way of getting back at the parents of her attackers, she had almost resolved to just taking a bunch of ugly old school pictures of the six and posting them all over the school, until she had noticed a bunch of nerds who had been bitching about the Ans and Kankers, and, even though she'd really rather not poison her reputation by talking to them, she was desperate and, to be honest, she thought that if she was only a small part of a large group, the Kanker Kids wouldn't come after her, but their leader, so, she offered up her help to get payback. They were happy for the help, one of them had found some weird book that had a special glue recipe that would ensure that their costumes would get stuck to them, and, since An had designed their costumes herself, they would totally look like freaks and it was bound to be hilarious…

It least it seemed like it would be, until she saw what she had to help with. She had help set up several buckets full of a glowing blue liquid through out the school, why she had to do it through out the school, she wasn't entirely sure, but she didn't really feel all that good about it afterwards. She actually felt kind of, well…

_Guilty_.

She bit her lip and gripped the broom she had brought as a part of her witch costume. It was a clingy long sleeved black dress with a rugged look to the bottom of it, she wore striped stockings (green and black) and a black witch's hat with a green rim to hide the bald patches that she had gotten from when Andy, Mia and Tia had tied her hair to the banister and flipped her over to the stairs and let her hang there until chunks of her hair ripped out of her head, while her mouth was covered by spider silk thanks to Mildred as she, as well as her older brothers, Allbert, Terry and Larry released the _biggest_ spiders she had ever seen and watched as they crawled all over her, much to her horror and disgust, as well as her house while Sheldon and April had grabbed a few metal pans from the kitchen and smacked her in the butt over and over again, as if they were playing tennis with her as the ball.

She glanced around for the Kankers and the Ans, she didn't want to go through with the plan anymore, yeah their future kids had beaten the stuffing out of her, but how was gluing costumes on the six supposed to make anything better? If that was _really _what that glowing blue stuff actually did. She had to warn them, but… she glanced around the party, the nerds she had helped were all dressed as zombies, something about group costumes or some shit, and they were all over the place, how could she get close and warn them if she couldn't even get near them without a nerdy zombie blocking her way?

She looked at her friends, who unlike her, were having a blast and enjoying themselves; Rachel had worn an actual pumpkin to the dance, she munched on cookies and chatted with Nate, Jenny and her new boyfriend, Patrick. Patrick well, he kind of looked like a plank of wood. He was a tall, thin guy with his brown-ish blonde hair stuck up with a little knick on the side, if she didn't know any better, she'd think that Patrick was just a male human version of Plankette. He was also mute, so yeah, it didn't help her think any differently, except that he was dressed as a man made of stone or a 'stone golem' as Jenny called it, Jenny was dressed as a 'forest nymph' with vines and plant life covering green leggings and a skin tight green t-shirt. Nate was dressed as Frankenstein, he was sipping punch and waved to her, ushering for her to join them, smiling warmly.

Karen smiled and waved back as her heart began thumping like crazy.

She was _totally_ in love with Nate, she had been for _years_, even back when he was _fat_, but she was too scared to do anything about it. And if he found out that she had helped with whatever was going to happen to the Ans and Kankers, he'd _hate_ her. He hadn't been very close with the Ans growing up, but he still wouldn't wish them harm, even after all the crap they pulled as kids. As for the Kankers, well, when he was younger, he had feared them just like the other kids, but that changed as they aged, mainly when the Kankers had joined the high school football team, the four of them always had each other's backs both on and off the field, strangely enough, the guys had sort of become… dare she even think it?

_Friends_.

Now, they weren't _best_ friends or anything, that would be _awful_, watching Nate become as rowdy and harsh as the three infamous brothers, but the guys hung out sometimes when the Kankers weren't with the Ans, and Nate always invited them to his parties and honestly, she had seen the four of them goofing off and laughing like normal guys would, as if they had been buds since the Kankers had moved in instead of beating and scaring the crap out of them.

Then again, Nate was that kind of guy, he was kind and sweet and forgiving, he could be friends with anyone. But she doubted if he would be so forgiving if he found out she was involved with whatever she had helped with.

She needed to get someone to warn the Ans and Kankers for her, but who?

Nate would hate her.

Jenny would get pissed at her and not only tell the Ans and Kankers, but she'd tell Nate too. Jenny had become close to everyone in the cul-de-sac in high school, she was actually the first one in the cul-de-sac to be actively friendly to the Kanker Brothers. It probably had something to do with the fact that she stopped bringing Plankette everywhere with her when she entered high school. She said that she had real friends now, so she didn't need to rely on Plankette anymore. But even when she was younger, she was friendly towards the Ans anyway, and she had gotten closer with An and Jay ever since she joined video game club with them. So she'd probably not talk to her for a while if she found out what Karen had done either.

Patrick was mute so he was automatically out. That and Jenny would find out somehow (Karen had no idea _how_, but somehow Jenny and Patrick could communicate without words. She first had thought Patrick had just texted her or something, but Jenny explained to her that they didn't do that unless they were actually apart from one another, something about his family's phone bill going up the first week they had started dating…) and after she'd find out from Patrick, Jenny would spill the beans to Nate.

Karen looked at her last chance of redemption; Rachel.

Ever since Rachel had moved in, the two had been close. She'd usually hang out with her and Nate back then, but like Jenny and Nate, she never held much animosity towards the Ans, it was mainly Karen and Sam who hated them for no other reason other then the fact that the three girls had been super annoying back then.

Rachel was a tough girl, one who never took shit from anyone, she'd also be the one who would tell Karen when she went too far and would give her a hard time until she fixed it. Rachel would help her, she'd probably give her a long lecture about how she had probably deserved that beating at her house and how she was horrible for wanting to ruin the Ans and Kankers' fun at the party just so she could get payback for something that they hadn't even done and not want to talk to her or anything for a while, but Karen knew she had crossed a line this time, so she understood why she'd do it.

"Hey Rach!" she called, "Can you come here? I need to talk to you for a sec!" Rachel made a confused face, but complied. "For what is it that you call the Daughter of a Shepherd, Dressed-Like-A-Sorceress-Karen girl?"

Karen told her what she had gotten herself into and asked her to help her warn the Ans and Kankers. Rachel looked at her, concerned, "And you want Rachel to warn the An girls and the Kanker boys of this plot, yes?"

"Yes!" Karen said, nodding vigorously.

"And what if one of them asks how Rachel knows this fact?" she asked, narrowing her eyes at her, Karen winced but said, "You tell them that I'm trying to fix what I've done." Rachel stared at her for a second, then nodded, somewhat satisfied by her answer. The doors to the gym opened, revealing the Ans and Kankers, who walked into the party with all eyes on them.

Anny was some sort of female warrior from outer space because of the armor and sword, but she had lots of guys look her way once they saw how curvy she was in the costume, even Nate gaped with approval. Anny strolled in like she owned the place, confident. But then again, Tee was right beside her, looking like some sort of bizarre mutant wild cat with red curly hair that covered his eyes and erupted in the back in the form of a tail and he also looked like he'd tear apart any guy who tried to hit on her, they hung out by the entrance as Double-N and Larie walked into the gym.

Double-N kind of looked like a mummy, covered from head to toe with only her nose and eyes free of bandages, she moved freely with a bandage swirled around her body, frozen in place. Larie besides her, his clawed arm around her waist and his messy blue-haired wildcat costume's head moved side to side, its one eye watching, almost _daring_ anyone to try and take her from him. He then lead her towards the dance floor, both of them looking pretty happy.

Jay's costume was similar to his brothers' only with floppy blonde hair and two eyes and he had two long fangs coming out of his mouth, similar to how his buck teeth were.

"Come on, An!" he said, dragging a tentacle inside with him, "The party's in full swing!" He pulled his girlfriend in behind him and Karen and Rachel looked at An's costume in horror.

She was wearing the same costume she wore about four years ago when she had scared the living shit out of them by snatching them from all over the cul-de-sac and stuck them to her nasty bedroom wall with half-chewed Chunky Puffs.

Rachel and Karen looked at each other and ran towards them, if something happened to any of them, An could go on another rampage and they didn't want to get stuck to another wall with half chewed food again. They rushed towards them, freaking out.

"Why the fuck did you bring that thing here!" Karen demanded, pointing to An. An looked hurt, just because she was dressed like a monster didn't mean she wanted people to _treat_ her like one.

"Hey!" Jay snapped, "My girlfriend _is not_ a thing! She's a lady!"

"It's just a costume." Anny snarled, "An hasn't turned into a monster. If she gets out of control, we'll take care of it." Karen opened her mouth to speak, but Anny cut her off, "And if you have a problem with that, you can bite my shiny metal armored ass!" (Author: Anyone who gets that reference is officially great.) She snapped, then stormed off, Tee cracking up right behind her. Jay led a sniffling An over to Jenny and Patrick, scowling at Karen as he passed, "You're lucky I don't wanna ruin this party for An." he hissed at her, "Or you'd be _dead_." Karen got chills from his tone, if anything happened to An, Jay would murder her and if anything happened to Jay or the others, An would go on a rampage, either way Karen was screwed! She looked at Rachel, "Now what?"

"We talk to the Wrapped-Like-A-Mummy-An girl and the Fuzzy-Blue-Kanker boy," Rachel informed her, "They would be the ones most likely to believe your words." Karen nodded. They rushed towards them, hoping to get to them before it was too late. Only for a bunch of the zombie boys to block their path, Rachel and Karen glared at them, annoyed.

"We can't let you ruin the plan." One of them said, the others nodded.

"I've been putting up with the Ans and Kankers for_ years_, and even though I don't _like_ them, I'm not gonna let you do this to them." Karen said sternly, as she pushed past them, Rachel growling at them as they passed, angry that they had planned all of this in the first place, and continued to walk towards Double-N and Larie.

The two were now smiling and laughing on the dance floor, they seemed to be gliding through the room. Double-N leaned in close, lifted the head of Larie's costume and lowered a bandage over her mouth and gave him a kiss before letting it fall back down over his face, chuckling as she covered her mouth back up as he scrambled to push it back up to kiss his girlfriend again, only to find her laughing that he had not been fast enough to get her before she pulled the bandage back up over her mouth again.

"Well aren't you playful tonight?" he said deviously before yanking it back down and kissing her.

Karen watched them enviously for a moment. Roughly two months ago, Double-N would be running away from Larie as if her life depended on it, now she was happily making out with him on the dance floor. Yet Karen had known Nate pretty much since they were babies, yet she couldn't get him to see her as more then a friend. How did the Kankers get the Ans (well Jay and Larie got their Ans. Tee hadn't gotten Anny yet, but it was easy to see that Anny liked Tee back too, even if neither she nor Tee had picked up on that fact, that and Karen had seen their kids, for fucks' sake, she knew the two would end up together eventually, either that or Tee would somehow get Anny pregnant… twice.) even after all the crap they pulled, while she couldn't get Nate to look her way, even after being so close for so many years.

Rachel nudged her, reminding her that she had come to warn them, Karen nodded and called out to the dancing couple, "Uh, Double-N?" she said nervously, the couple looked at her, Double-N looked confused that she had called out to her while Larie looked annoyed that she was bothering them.

"Yes Karen?" Double-N replied. Karen opened her mouth then heard something above them clatter, the four of them looked up and saw as blue fluid was falling towards them, Rachel tossed Karen out of the way while Larie pushed his girlfriend away from the splash zone.

"NO!" the two cried out in unison as the liquid covered Rachel and Larie and splashed onto the floor, the rest of the gang dashed forward towards the blue spot in the gym, concerned looks on their faces, but Karen and Double-N reached them first.

The two were twitching like mad in the blue gunk, screaming in pain. Monster An took one look at the two teens and her eyes turned red, she let out a terrifying roar and unleashed her wrath upon the rest of the dance, flinging people left and right. Double-N reached to remove the head of Larie's costume to see if he was alright, not caring if any of the blue gunk touched her bandaged hands, she reached into the fur and her eyes widened in horror, she looked up to her friends, "I CAN'T GET THE HEAD OFF, ANNY!" Double-N cried, "I CAN'T GET HIM OUT!" Larie gently put his clawed paw against her cheek, revealing that the skin on his arm was growing massive amounts of blue fur, the eye on the costume's head blinked, then looked at Double-N, who had tears slipping from her eyes and soaking into the bandages on her cheeks and his furry claws as she tried to figure out what was happening to him. His brothers and Anny watching with her, horrified, as Larie seemed to meld into his costume.

Rachel's arms, legs and head seemed to be sucked into the pumpkin until there was nothing left but a very tall pumpkin. Karen put her hands on the large orange gourd, getting a little of the blue gunk on her hands without her realizing it, her eyes filling with tears, "Rach?" she called, her voice soft and heartbroken. Nate held her as she began to break down into sobs.

This was _all_ her fault. If she hadn't of helped those dorks, her best friend wouldn't be a… a…

"Did Rachel just turn into a pumpkin?" Jenny asked, alarmed, clutching Patrick's arm. Patrick looked from the pumpkin to the monster Larie was still turning into. Larie stopped shaking and screaming and pulled himself up off the floor so he was standing on all four limbs, his arms and legs had grown maybe a foot longer without the rest of them really noticing it until he was on all fours. Double-N looked at him, terrified, "Larie?" she asked, reaching a shaking hand out at him, he roared and she fell backwards towards his brothers and Anny, scared and a little hurt that he didn't recognize her.

Patrick was alarmed, but continued to survey all the incoming dangers through the panic and disarray, An was still destroying the dance, furious that someone did this to her friends, throwing people, furniture, and decorations and roaring angrily. She snatched a book from one kid and smacked him into the snack table with a tentacle. Then, to Patrick's horror, one of the boys dressed as a zombie fell into the blue goop that Larie and Rachel had been covered with and began to scream as well, his eyes turning white. Patrick motioned for everyone to watch as the boy transformed in to the zombie he was dressed as, Patrick then grabbed a chair and whacked him away with it, trying to keep a good distance between the undead geek and their group.

"ZOMBIE!" Jay cried, he looked to his girlfriend and shouted, "AN! WE NEED TO GO!" But An hadn't heard him, she was too busy destroying the gym and causing more panic.

"AN!" Jay screamed, "WE NEED TO LEAVE NOW!" but An just roared in response and continued to tear the place apart, the book still grasped in one of her tentacles.

The zombie bit another teen as they tried to flee An's rampage, causing the teen to cry out, then start to shift and scream as they, too, turned into a zombie.

Anny, Tee, Jenny, Patrick and Nate grabbed Double-N, Jay and Karen and pulled them towards the door, "Sorry guys!" Jenny called out to An, Larie and the pumpkin formally known as Rachel as they dashed out of the gym, but as they were leaving, another bucket of blue gunk fell and hit Anny.

"ANNY!" Tee and Double-N cried, horrified. She screamed and fell onto her knees as her skin began to glow, her hair began to grow and shine, her irises expanding and turning sapphire blue, her body became more curvy. Tee's eyes widened as Anny became more and more beautiful and her fake sword sharpening in her hand, she looked up at him, then said something in what sounded like a different language and motioned towards the door, as if saying, 'Go! GO!'

"Tee! Double-N!" Nate cried, yanking the two along with them as they ran out of the gym and into the hall, they ran with everything they had, the zombies beginning to make their way out of the gym, following their food out into the rest of the school.

.

.

.

"It should be safe in here," Nate said, "For the time being." They had slipped into one of the girl's bathrooms to hide, barricading themselves in after making sure that it was zombie free. The zombies had quickly multiplied and were now all over the school, the seven of them leaned against the walls, sinks, stalls, catching their breath. They had almost gotten bitten a few times, but had managed to escape at the last minute. Karen looked down at her hands, they felt as if they were on fire, they had felt like that since she had reached out to Rachel and learned that the Daughter of a Shepherd had been turned into a pumpkin, she saw nothing that could be irritating her skin nor any indication that her hands were burning or anything, yet the feeling had been crawling up her arms and her feet felt as if her shoes had been filled with hot coals.

She looked up to the others, shaking and feeling worse then before.

Jenny and Patrick were inspecting each other for injuries, once they had discovered that they were both fine, they smiled warmly at one another and held each other, grateful that the other was okay.

Nate splashed water onto his face and took a few calming breaths as he watched the green face paint he had put on start to mix with the water and leave green speckled water drops in his wake as he walked over to the towel dispenser and dabbed his face dry. He then held both hands on each side of the sink, his eyes tightly shut as he made a pensive expression, as if trying to figure out what the hell had just happened.

The two remaining Kanker brothers removed their costume heads and looked upset, but the sad kind, not mad like she was used to seeing, then again, they had lost a lot tonight. They had lost their brother as well as their dates and they had no idea how they were holding out.

"We need to go get them!" Jay said to his brother, suddenly hysterical, "They're in danger!" he reached for the door, ready to run out and find his brother, his girlfriend, Anny and Rachel and bring them back to the bathroom, but Tee stopped him, "That's suicide!" he snapped at his brother, "We have no idea where they are, if they already haven't become zombies, and we have no idea how they transformed, or how we can change them back, if we can, or if they'll attack us or not! We need know something before we run out into a mob of fucking zombies!" Everyone stopped after he said that and turned to Double-N.

Double-N had curled up on the floor, which was surprising since she'd normally freak out if anything other then the bottoms of her shoes touched the bathroom floor, but considering the circumstances, Karen knew that all the dirt in the world couldn't make her so much as whimper right now. Her arms were folded on her knees, stray tears slipped down her cheeks while her eyes were out of focus, as if she was in deep thought. She looked pale and tired, as if the life was being sucked out of her. Karen felt awful, while she had lost only one of her best friends to that blue stuff, Double-N lost one of her best friends as well as her boyfriend to it, and her other best friend was running rampant somewhere around the school, if she wasn't zombie chow already. Even though the two Kanker brothers were just as devastated, they still had another Kanker by their side, Double-N was the only An in the room and she didn't even have her boyfriend around to comfort her. If anyone was hurting the most right now, it was Double-N.

"Karen?" Double-N said softly, "Before that bucket poured that blue fluid on Larie and Rachel, you were going to say something to Larie and I." she looked up at her, "What was it?"

Karen bit her lip, while she knew she needed to tell her, she also knew that her friends would hate her for it. She took a deep breath and told everyone what happened, well, not that the Ans and Kanker's future kids beat her up thing, they hadn't believed her before and she doubted that they'd believe her now, but the whole helping the nerds set the blue gunk around the school thing.

"You _helped_ them do that?" Tee seethed, his fists clenched.

"If any of them are zombies because of you…!" Jay threatened, his voice was darker and angrier then Karen had ever heard it before.

"I can't believe you'd do that to them!" Jenny cried, disgusted. Patrick nodded, angry and disappointed in her, even though he had pretty much just met her, like, an hour ago.

Nate just looked horrified, then scowled as he walked towards her, his jaw set in fury. But Double-N stepped between them, her hand up to stop him and silence him, "Her actions and intentions aside, she knows more about this then we do, and while that does not excuse what she did, her knowledge could be crucial to our survival as well as helping us change everyone back to normal." She then turned to Karen, "You said one of them got the recipe for that blue liquid from a book, do you know which one?" she asked, urgency radiating from her voice. Karen strained herself to remember.

"No, but I saw it, I even glanced inside it. It was old, the pages were yellow and the cover was torn, I couldn't make out the title…" Double-N urged her to continue, "The cover was a mossy green, well what was left of it, and it had weird symbols in it, I couldn't understand a word of it." she then tore up some toilet paper and made one of the symbols out of the scraps. "They looked like this." She explained, then tossed the paper in the toilet, just in case something would happen to it, but she didn't dare flush and give away their position to the zombies.

Double-N nodded, then said, "Well, they couldn't have found that in the library, since I helped catalog every novel, magazine, CD, DVD, and VHS and archived them at the beginning of the year, there was no book that fits that description. And the symbol you've shown us is completely alien to me."

"Maybe they found it in the basement." Tee suggested, "those guys have spent a lot of time down there recently." Double-N nodded in agreement.

"What about the others?" Jay asked, "How will they be?"

"Well, Rachel should be fine." Jenny said, "Zombies like brains, not pumpkins." Patrick nodded in agreement.

"And An doesn't _have_ a brain, so she's safe." Karen said, only to be met with dark, angry stares.

"An would most likely go someplace she feels safe…" Double-N said.

"You mean like that happy place she's always going on about?" Tee asked, she nodded, "In her current state, she'd go to some place that she knows, that no matter what, she's safe from anything she truly fears." Jay perked up, his eyes widening as Double-N went on to say, "Anny has a weapon, so she might be able to fend them off... and as for Larie, well, he's Larie, he's a fighter, he'll get out alright..." She said, sounding as if she was reassuring herself of her words instead of reassuring the rest of them. Jenny patted her on the back and smiled, nodding, "Yeah, everyone will be fine." She agreed. Double-N took a breath then looked at Karen, "We need to locate that book." She said, "If it had the formula to change them into the monsters they were dressed like, it probably has one to reverse it as well." She then winced a bit and shook her head.

"What's wrong?" Nate asked her, worried, as he reached for her, but she backed away.

"Just a headache." She said, brushing off his concern and rubbing her temples, "I've had it since Larie was in mid-metamorphosis." Nate opened his mouth again, but she stopped him with a hand, "Although I appreciate the concern, I'd say that my migraine is the least of our worries right now." Nate retracted his hand and nodded solemnly.

"Well, where should we start looking?" Jenny asked, "We have no idea if one of those zombies have the book, and Karen said she couldn't read the symbols on it."

"The library." Double-N said, rubbing her temples, "Even if the book hasn't been there, there are terminals there we can use to see if we can find it online, or any kind of information about this phenomenon, as well as check to see if it's in the old card system. We could also look to see if we can find any reference materials to help us translate the book as well." She rationalized. The others nodded in agreement, Jay later then the others, his mind reeling.

He knew where he could find An.

He needed to find her, he needed to know she was safe.

They were about to make a plan when they heard something scuffling above them, they all slowly looked up to see a zombie looking down at them, it's blank white eyes bright in the darkness, it banged against the vent with it's fist, trying to break through it.

"Fuck!" Tee cried, "They found us!" The vent was beginning to have dents in it and looked as if it could give way at any moment.

"We need to go!" Nate said, they all nodded in agreement and Tee and Jay put the heads of their costumes back on, as another layer the zombies would have to go through to get to their brains. The vent slammed onto the ground and the seven teens scrambled out of the bathroom as the zombie tumbled out of the vent and fell onto the floor groaning and murmuring "Brains... Brains... Brian…" (Author: That wasn't a typo. That was comedy.)

.

.

.

The hallway outside the bathroom had a few zombies, they dodged them and Tee and, to everyone but Jenny's surprise, Patrick, grabbed a locker and bashed the zombies away as they raced towards the library. They stopped for a moment to catch their breath at an intersection between two hallways, Double-N didn't look so good, with her usual lack of stamina and speed, this kind of thing would be difficult for her to do normally, however, it seemed to be worse then usual. Tee and Jay had pretty much dragged her through the school, probably because they knew that's what An, Anny, and Larie would want them to do, to help her if they weren't around to do so themselves. Karen didn't look so hot either, well she _felt_ as if she had a fever, her whole body was burning and she felt dizzy, but she appeared to just be pale and weakly. Jenny and Patrick had pulled her along with them, mainly because they knew it was the right thing to do, while Nate didn't even seem to notice her struggling to flee for her life. He seemed to focus on Double-N while they had ran, then he focused on keeping the approaching zombies back with a locker along with Jay, guarding the others while they stopped to rest.

Suddenly Jay bolted down a hallway on his own, hitting any approaching zombies away with the locker as if it was a baseball bat. Double-N and Tee called out for him, "JAY!"

"I know where An is!" Jay shouted back to them, "We'll meet you guys in the library!"

"JAY!" Jenny and Nate cried, but he had already turned the corner and ran out of sight. Patrick looked concerned and scooped up another locker and began bashing a few more zombies away, he looked at Jenny in between zombie beat downs. She shrugged, "I have no idea, Pat," she said, "I mean, it's Jay. He would dive into the deepest pits of hell to save An…" she looked down the hallway, worried, "But I have no idea how they'll get back unscathed."

"Great." Karen huffed, "Just great! First Rachel turns into a pumpkin and Larie turns into a monster, then An goes on a rampage and creates a zombie infestation, then Anny turns into… _whatever_ she was dressed as, a Amazon Warrior slut from space, I dunno... And now Jay has to go play the hero to save An..."

"That's enough, Karen!" Nate snapped as he swung, much to everyone's surprise, "If you hadn't of helped them in the first place…"

"We'd either be monsters or the walking dead right now…" Double-N finished for him, her voice weak and her legs shaking from holding up her own weight. "From what Karen had told us earlier, those people would've done this anyway, so although her original objectives were cruel, she's making up for it now by giving us information we would have otherwise not have had and therefore giving us a better chance of saving everyone." She, with great effort, walked towards him and poked a feeble finger at his chest, "My best friends and my boyfriend are out there." She huffed, gesturing towards where Jay had run off to find An, "And Karen's the only thing I have to save them. So if you want to scold her for her atrocious behavior, I will kindly ask you to wait until _after_ she helps us fix this mess." She then let herself lean against the locker, her breath shallow and shaky as she slid down to the floor, sweating and gripping her head, groaning in pain. Karen stumbled over beside her and let herself lean on the cool metal of the locker and slide onto the dirty ground, her breathing hitched and raspy.

The others looked at them, worried.

"Are you both okay?" Jenny asked. Patrick bent down and reached out to put his hand on Karen's forehead to check if she had a fever. He barely touched her before yanking his hand back, blowing on his fingers and waving his hand.

"Hot." Jenny translated, "Very hot." She then put her hand on Double-N's forehead, "Double-N's sweating up a storm, but she's colder then she's supposed to be." She informed them, looking a little worried. Tee bent down, sounding hurt and a little angry and annoyed, "you two should've told us earlier!" he scolded. Double-N was having a difficult time finding the strength to breathe, let alone speak, so Karen spoke in her place, "It's like Double-N said earlier, we had bigger problems to worry about then us feeling like shit."

"Did either of you get bitten?" Nate asked, and again, since Double-N was too weak to speak, Karen replied, "No. But…" her eyes widened, "We _did _touch Rachel and Larie while they still had some of that blue stuff on them." She looked at Double-N, "Since we barely touched it, it probably is taking longer to work on us…" she looked at Double-N knowingly, "but you probably already figured that out, huh?" Double-N said nothing, the sound of her breathing was getting softer and softer.

"Double-N!" Tee, Jenny and Nate cried, Patrick said nothing but all of them fussed over the two.

Then they heard a familiar voice cry out in an unintelligible language, they turned to see Anny charging towards them, her sword drawn and bashing approaching zombies out of the way as she ran at an amazing speed towards them.

At the sight of her, Tee forgot about the zombies. He forgot about the blue stuff. He forgot about every bit of danger they were all in as he took in the sight of the girl he'd been in love with since he was six years old and the 'Beautiful Warrior' she had transformed into.

The creature An had created was well named.

Tee's jaw _dropped_, the head of his costume's jaw dropped with it as he looked at Anny, his eyes glazed over and his tongue flopped out of his mouth. He began floating off the ground, his heart banged against his rib cage as if it was saying, 'let me out, I want a piece of _that_!'

She looked as if she had become a Goddess of Beauty while she had been away, and she was getting prettier with each passing moment (or maybe that was just Tee's love addled brain), her skin glowed, her long flowing pink hair shined, her chest_ heaved_ from the armor, her wider waist making her skirt show _way_ more leg, her eyes were sparkling and Tee quickly felt his costume suddenly become _very tight_ on his lower body.

She swung at them, Patrick pulled Jenny away while Nate launched himself so he and Tee would fall to the ground, missing Anny's blade by a breath.

Anny stared down at Double-N and Karen, then around at the others, defensive of the gasping girls on the floor. She then grabbed Tee by his furry little chest, pulled him up to her eye level and shouted something at him in a language he couldn't understand.

Not that he would be listening if she was speaking English either.

He was too busy admiring how _fucking sexy_ she looked, now up close, a big goofy smile on his face and steam screaming from his ears and out his costume's head. He made a mental note to thank An after all this was over, when Anny wasn't in earshot, of course.

She shook him and shouted at him again, Tee could only manage to let out a deep happy sigh. Which seemed to confuse her, as well as concern her. She looked at him funny, then dropped him to the ground, only for him to fall backwards into Patrick and they slammed back into a locker.

Which had another bucket of blue liquid on top of it and poured all over them. They screamed out in pain as the boys each slowly melded with his costume. Anny and Jenny looked alarmed and pulled a boy out the blue liquid, looking upset and concerned as they tried to wipe the fluid off with their hands.

But it was no good, Tee was changing into the red furry beast he dressed up as and Patrick's body was becoming the living rock pile he was dressed up as. Jenny fell to the ground as well, her blue hands slowly turning green as she cried out in pain. More zombies came closer, moaning and dragging themselves toward the group. Anny quickly began to help Nate keep the zombies back as the others were still undergoing their painful transformations.

Tee finished first, letting out a loud and fearsome roar and swiping at zombies, whacking them into one another, but they were becoming more and more plentiful and it was getting harder to keep them back.

Another roar came from the hall opposite the one Jay took to save An, it made the zombies freeze for a moment, and they seemed, well… scared. Their group all turned (except Double-N and Karen, who were in too much pain to move much) to see

Larie charging towards them, roaring and crushing lockers as he pushed against them to slice through zombies as he made his way towards the others, stopping only once when he noticed his girlfriend on the ground, barely breathing, he then went wild on the zombies, clearing a path. He then approached her carefully and gently nuzzled her with his nose. A bandage above her eyes drooped down and slid over them. Larie nudged her, almost frantically, trying to get her to move or respond as the zombies finally had them surrounded from all sides, even from above, where another zombie was trying to break through the vent like the one in the bathroom had done. Karen looked at Larie and Double-N, then Anny and Tee fighting off zombies with Nate, then at Jenny and Patrick, who were both close to finishing their transformations and holding hands, taking comfort that the other one was there for them when they needed them most…

Surrounded by zombies while painfully transforming into monsters just before they were all probably about to die.

"I'm sorry, guys." Karen managed, tears slipping out of her eyes and steaming as they reached her cheeks, she closed her eyes, ready for whatever horrible, painful, thing would happen to her.

'_Apology accepted, Karen.' _ She suddenly heard Double-N's voice say in her mind, her eyes snapped open and she looked to Double-N, who's braid began to float into the air. Larie and the others seemed to hear her too. They all turned and watched as Double-N began to float in the air, her braid fluttering in a non-existent breeze, the bandage that had hung around her body, unmoving, began to flutter as well, Larie's blue fur began to move along with the bandages as his eye widened in joyful relief that she was okay.

'_I apologize for worrying you all,_'Double-N's voice echoed in their heads, '_But as Karen said earlier, I had surmised that her and my transformations would be delayed due to getting less of the concoction on us._'

"Then how…" Nate began, astounded.

'_An had informed me that this alien she had invented had telepathic powers, I believe there are other abilities that I may now possess, but there's only one way to ascertain that…_'

Suddenly the zombies that blocked their way to the library seemed to be flung backwards by an invisible force. Larie let out a growl, impressed, then licked her cheek.

Karen guessed he had said, 'Hot damn.' Since that's what he always said when she did something he found appealing right before he'd kiss her.

Anny said something in a weird language again as they all surged forward, Jenny and Patrick (in their new plant and stone bodies) carried Karen and Larie bit Double-N's braid and dragged her hovering body behind him while the others ran on their own two (or four in Tee and Larie's cases) feet.

"Translation?" Nate asked Double-N.

'_She said 'Nice one, Sock head.'' _Double-N informed them all. Tee growled at her, Nate opened his mouth to ask her to translate, but Double-N interrupted him.

'_Pardon my interruption, Nate,_' she said in their minds, '_But it might be easier for me to just allow you all to understand each other's words by…_'

Anny shouted something at her, to which Double-N replied, '_Very well, Anny._'

"Fan-fucking-tastic. So is it working now or what?" Anny asked, a little annoyed. The others looked at her, surprised that they could finally understand her again.

"Anny?" Tee said, pleased that he could understand her again.

"Tee?" she replied, surprised to hear his voice again instead of him growling.

'_I believe this answers your inquiry, Anny._' Double-N replied, sounding a little smug.

"Yeah!" she said, sounding impressed, "So where are we headed?"

"The library." An unfamiliar deep voice replied. The group stopped for a moment, surprised, then looked at Double-N, all wondering the same thing.

'_Indeed, that __was__ Patrick_.' Double-N confirmed, '_I thought you might want to know what he wanted to say as well_.' She then when on to say, '_need I remind you all that we are all still in great peril? And that standing around in an open hallway while we're being hunted by zombies will, without a doubt, ensure our demise?_' They all nodded and continued towards the library.

"Hey, Ann?" Larie said with a mouthful of her bandaged hair, "Do you think you can communicate with Jay and An telepathically as well and find out where they are and if they're okay?"

'_I hadn't even thought of that! Brilliant idea, Larie!'_ Larie blushed, proud that he had thought of something helpful as they finally made their way towards the library.

.

.

.

Jay was running like a mad man, swinging the locker back and forth, smacking zombies out of the way as he ran towards the room where video game club took place every Wednesday.

He knew An felt safe there.

It had been the only place in the school where he had never attacked her. It had been where they had gotten to know each other better. It's where he first asked her out. It's where they had spent fun times with Jenny. It's where they had their first mutual kiss (Jenny was pwning n00bs and wasn't paying attention to them anyway). It's where they first made out (mutually). (Again, Jenny was pwning n00bs and not paying attention to them)

An felt safe there. It was probably the only place in school she would feel safe in during a zombie invasion. He beat away the zombies as he tried the door.

It was locked.

"AN!" Jay cried, "IT'S ME!" The door slipped open a crack and a tentacle slipped through and pulled Jay into the room, slamming the door behind him.

"Jay?" Monster An asked, lifting him close to her face so she could see him better in the dark classroom.

"An!" he said, hugging her tightly, "I'm so glad you're okay!"

An hugged back and started to cry, "This isn't as cool as they make it seem in the movies!" she sobbed, sounding terrified, "It's really scary in real life, Jay!" She said, shaking.

"We're gonna be okay, An." Jay said his tone soothing as he squeezed her tight, "The others went to the library, we're meeting up with them there."

"You left them behind?" she asked, horrified, "They could be zombie food!"

"And you could've been zombie food too, An!"

"I could've fought them off!" An said, a little mad at him for abandoning the others, "I've seen all the movies, Jay! I know how to keep them back!"

"Yeah, but you can't keep something like that up forever, An!" Jay cried, "And I couldn't just leave you to fight off zombies alone! I would never be able to live with myself if I lost you!" An and Jay both stared at each other, both crying and blushing under their masks. They both reached for the other's mask as they leaned in closer…

'_An. Jay. Can you hear me?_' Double-N's voice rang out from out of nowhere, they jumped, then looked around, confused that they were hearing her voice but couldn't see her anywhere.

"Double-N?" Jay called, "Where are you?"

"Are you a ghost?" An asked, sounding mortified and heartbroken that her brainy friend was dead.

'_I'm not a ghost nor am I dead, An! I simply am using the abilities of the alien you invented to communicate with you two._' Double-N informed her, '_Remember? You told me that this alien has telepathic powers_.' An's eyes widened in recollection.

"So, you're okay?" she asked, hope gleaming in her eyes.

'_Well, considering our circumstances, I'd say I'm fine and dandy, An._' Double-N replied, then said, '_I'd suggest you two join us here at the library, we could use your assistance in finding that book…_'

"Book?" An asked, then brightened, "Oh! I have a book!" she said, holding it up for Jay to see, he squinted in the dark to get a better look at it.

It had a mossy green cover that was torn, so he couldn't read the title, the pages were yellow with age. "Hey An, can I see this for a sec?" he asked. She nodded and handed it to him. He flipped through the pages, which were full of weird symbols and sketches of plants and animals and some weird and disturbing images… then he saw the same symbol Karen had made out of toilet paper in the bathroom.

"Hey Double-N, I think An found the book Karen was talking about!" Jay cried, filled with relief as well as pride that his girlfriend had found the one thing that could save them all.

'_That's wonderful!_' Double-N exclaimed, '_I'll inform the others right away_!'

"But Double-N, how can this book be helpful if we can't read it?" Jay asked.

'_Karen also was exposed to the blue solution and transformed into her costume_.' Double-N explained, '_So we now have a witch to read the book._'

"I think you might have mispronounced the word 'bitch', Double-N." Jay commented.

"Jay!" An scolded, "That's not nice!"

"She helped them set up that blue liquid to pour on Larie and Rachel!" Jay told her, "It got Anny and now Double-N and Karen as well, who knows if Tee, Nate, Jenny and Patrick haven't gotten it on them too!"

An paused for a minute, thinking, then asked, "Double-N?"

'_Well, to answer your question, the only one among us here in the library who has not transformed into his or her costume is Nate.'_ Double-N replied. '_And as to your comment, Jay, most of us here would agree with you about that. But, nevertheless, she's probably the only one who can read that book. So until everything is back to normal, we'll just have to deal with her._'

"When this is over, she's in for a heck of a beating!" Jay said, pounding his fist into his open palm.

'_Yes, well, why don't you two come meet us here in the library and get Karen to find a remedy to our situation first. You can come up with plans for retaliation__** after**__ we're no longer in danger of being turned into zombies._' Double-N suggested. An and Jay nodded, then informed her that they would be on their way in a second. Double-N said they'd be waiting for them and recommended that they get close enough to the library, then use the vents to get in, but warned them that there were zombies crawling around there, too, so they needed to be careful.

Jay and An looked at each other again, then carefully took off the other's mask and looked into each other's eyes. They smiled and kissed, not noticing a bucket of blue liquid falling from a ceiling tile and plummeting towards them as they slipped their masks back on, ready to meet their friends in the library.

.

.

.

Karen sat on a table with her arms and legs crossed, An and Jay were taking _forever_ to bring that stupid book to the library. She looked out the window to see the moon was out and shining brightly, almost like a beacon of hope.

Hope that they desperately needed.

Karen had finished her transformation while Jenny and Patrick carried her through the halls to the library, her hair had grown back and her skin now had a greenish hue, not that Jenny's new plant body was any less green, in fact, Jenny was greener then Karen was by a long shot, her hair was now made up of curly vines and flowers for fuck's sake, but still, Karen flipped out over the tiniest pimple, so her skin turning green was _not_ something she was okay with.

Anny had glanced back when Karen started freaking out about her new appearance and said that she didn't really see much of a difference from before she transformed and after she had transformed, "You weren't that far from a witch in the first place," Anny had said, "all you needed to do was swap out a 'b' for a 'w' and wah-la! You're a witch!" Tee and Larie cracked up at that. Double-N had kept the zombies back with her mind until they had reached the library. Then Anny had thrown open the doors, revealing that _dozens_ more zombies had been hanging out in the library. Not that Karen had been all that surprised, her night had been pretty shitty so far, why not toss a bunch of zombies in the one spot they could get some more answers just to make it worse?

Luckily for them, Double-N's new mind powers allowed her to quickly locate _and_ move the zombies outside into the hallway, then they locked the doors behind them. The zombies banged against the door, but it was one of the thickest and heaviest wood doors in the school, so they were having a little trouble getting in. Double-N then hovered silently while she tried to contact Jay and An from afar. Nate and Anny hopped onto the computers and began searching online for any kind of answer to their dilemma. Tee and Larie, with their heightened senses of hearing and smell, patrolled around the library, just in case any zombies tried to sneak in. Jenny skimmed through old card catalogs and the schools' logs to find the book or any other book that could help explain what was happening, if she found anything interesting, she'd hand it off to Patrick and he'd go get it and hand it to Karen, who would have to look through it and see if anything looked familiar or anything.

After a little while, Double-N's voice rang through their heads, '_An has the book, she and Jay are on their way here now.'_ The others gathered around the hovering girl, looking pleased and relieved.

"How did they find it?" Karen asked.

'_Apparently An had it in her possession already before Jay arrived to retrieve her._' Double-N replied.

"When did Lumpy get it?" Anny asked.

'_That she did not say. However, An couldn't remember what had happened the last time she had lost control while wearing that mask, Anny, it's not surprising that she can't recall how she located the book._' Double-N rationalized.

"So we just sit and wait now, huh?" Nate asked.

'_Not necessarily, Nate._' Double-N said, '_I believe we should try to come up with a secondary defense, I doubt the door will last for very much longer._' The others looked at the door to see that she was right, the wood of the door was splintering and cracking under the strain of having all those zombies bashing up against it.

"How do we stop them?" Patrick's deep voice asked.

'_I believe Jenny can be of assistance with that._' Everyone looked at Jenny, she looked back and forth between the others, then up at Double-N and pointed at herself, "Me?" she asked, obviously confused.

'_Indeed, you're a plant nymph of some sort, correct?_'

"Yeah, so?"

'_So, a plant nymph can help trees and such grow faster._' Double-N said plainly, '_And I recall that there are some orange seeds and a peel inside the garbage can, I believe you can work with those to help us create a secondary barrier._' Jenny glanced over to the trash can, nodded, then grabbed the seeds from inside. She then placed them in front of the door and closed her eyes and concentrated.

The seeds began to sprout, then they grew into large, thick trees while Jenny seemed to get more and more tired as the tree grew larger. When the trees were large enough to block the door, Jenny fell to the ground, exhausted. She looked up at Double-N, panting, "How are you… not tired… after doing all that stuff… earlier?" she asked.

'_An described the alien I have shifted into as a 'Pain Element' so I assume that all the pain everyone has undergone in their transformation is giving me the energy and power I need to do all I have done so far,_' Double-N replied.

"So you're literally feeding off our pain?" Anny asked, disturbed. Double-N was silent for a moment, then replied in a soft, hurt tone, '_I wish there was another way I could put it to sound less awful, but I believe so…'_ She paused, her body moved for the first time in a while, only it was in the form of a shudder, '_An… Jay...'_ she said, her voice frightened and concerned, _'This is not good…_'

"What?" Tee asked, putting his face two inches from hers, "What's going on with them?" Double-N hovered silently in the air, the room was chillingly quiet.

"What happened to them?" Larie asked, but Double-N remained silent. Anny grabbed her bandaged friend and shook her, "Snap out of it, Sockhead!" she demanded, "What happened to An and Jay!"

Suddenly a loud roar came from outside…

_Monster An's roar._

Followed by the same roar Tee and Larie had done once their transformations had completed as well.

They all looked to Double-N in horror.

"Not cool!" Nate said, "This is definitely not cool."

"You've got to be kidding me!" Karen cried.

"So you mean to tell us that that blue stuff that turned us into monsters…" Jenny began.

"Hit Lumpy and Jay while they were still in their costumes." Anny finished with a groan, letting Double-N go and allowing her to hover as if nothing had happened.

'_I'm afraid so._" Double-N finally replied, '_I apologize for ignoring you all, but I needed to confirm what had happened then help them find a safer way in, especially since Jenny gave us this pleasant orange grove to hold off most of the horde…_'

Suddenly the sound of broken glass erupted from the back of the library.

"What was that?" Patrick asked, pulling a tired Jenny close.

"Probably more zombies." Larie groaned, getting tired of dealing with the undead jerks, why couldn't they just get re-killed, stay dead and leave them alone?

"Great." Karen groaned, "How are we going to plug that leak?"

Anny glanced around and noticed a heavy statue in the front of the library, it was of the schools founder or some shit, Anny didn't know, nor did she really care, "I think I found something that could help," she then looked at Patrick and Tee, "Patrick, Tee, you mind giving me a hand with the zombie leak?" she asked as she scooped up the statue with no effort, shocking Karen.

Although Anny had become a power house with her growth spurt, that statue would be way too heavy for her, An, the Kanker brothers, _and_ Rachel _combined _to lift, yet Anny scooped it up as if it was as light as a feather.

"Thought you'd never ask." Tee said, giving Anny a big, toothy grin, showing off his new three inch knife like teeth, a blue one gleaming in the dim light of the moon through the clouds. Patrick looked nervously down at his girlfriend.

"I can't leave Jenny like this." Patrick thought in his deep voice, looking to Jenny with concern. She smiled warmly up at him, grateful that he was so worried about her.

"I'll help her, Pat, you go help Anny and Tee." Nate said, walking over and helping Patrick place an exhausted Jenny into a comfy looking chair and picked up one of the lockers they had brought from the hallway.

"Thank you, Nate." Patrick nodded, then he, Tee and Anny dashed to the back, Anny's sword drawn and ready to beat down the rotting remains of their classmates.

An and Jay suddenly plummeted from the vents above down toward their group, a few zombies falling right behind them.

An and Jay held each other and screamed… only for them to open their eyes and realize they hadn't hit the ground yet. They looked over at Double-N who had caught them with her mind and was sending the zombies back up the vent as she gently lowered her friends onto the ground.

"Thanks, Double-N!" they said in unison, then looked at each other, surprised that they could understand what the other was saying again.

"Hey! You spoke normally again!" Jay cried, looking pleased with his girlfriend. An also looked pretty happy, "You too!"

'_Actually, you two are still speaking in two different languages, I'm allowing you to understand each other's language._' Double-N explained, '_An, if you could give that book to Karen so we can return to our original states, I'd be very grateful.'_ She added, sounding a little tired as Anny swore from the back, "GET BACK, YOU BRAIN MUNCHING FREAKS!"

"Anny?" An asked, looking to the back, concerned for her loud, pink haired friend.

"Anny, Tee and Patrick are keeping some zombies out of the back." Larie explained, then looked at his younger brother, "we need to go to the back and help them." He looked up at his floating girlfriend, "You gonna be okay out here, Ann?"

'_For the time being, yes, however, the faster we remedy our situation, the faster we can relax and not worry about being eaten by zombies or for my abilities to wane._' Larie nodded, licked his girlfriend's bandaged cheek, then indicated for his younger brother to follow him towards the back. Jay looked back at An, nuzzled her, then the two Stardusts raced towards the back with loud roars, ready to help their brother keep the zombies out. An handed the book to Karen, who began flipping through it, the symbols swirling into plain English before her eyes, she skimmed the book as if it would explode if she held it much longer. Nate leaned against a window near Jenny, looking nervous, only for a zombie to break through the glass and grab him. He cried out and managed to free himself without getting bitten, only for him to fall into another bucket trap and start screaming in pain as he became the odds-and-ends man from the classic horror novel, Jenny managed to find the strength to pull herself out of the chair and try to comfort him, to help lessen the pain, but despite her best efforts, Double-N felt a huge rush of energy from his fresh pain, she shuddered again, feeling awful for him but at the same time, his pain was giving her the energy to keep all the zombies that were crawling around the vents away from them. Karen looked back at him, concerned, "NATE!" she cried, ready to toss down the book and rush to his side and save him from the zombie that was trying to crawl through the window, but An was way ahead of her. She roared, Monster An style, and threw a chair at the zombie, launching him back outside. Then a table hovered over the hole in the window and the tabletop was pressed against the hole, not that it really helped much, since the other zombies had now just figured out that all they needed to do was break through the glass and they could reach the few non-zombies left in the whole school. An then whirled around the library, flinging chairs and tables and other furniture at the zombies who broke through the glass.

'_Keep going Karen._' Double-N told her, her voice strained, _'The faster you break this spell, the faster we can all go back to normal_.' Karen nodded and went back to speed reading the book until she finally found the page they were looking for… "Uh oh…" she said. An, Jenny and Nate, who had finished his transformation, looked at her, Double-N just continued to hover, un-moving.

"What?" Jenny asked, anxious to hear what new problem they had.

"It says that I need the blood of three beasts from the stars and three monsters from the sky to sacrifice." She said, "And that I need to do it onto some sort of spell circle and then everyone will change back…" she squinted at the page, "And the beasts and monsters I need to sacrifice look like your costumes." She said, holding up the book to the others.

An, Jenny and Nate's jaws dropped, the resemblance of the images of the beasts and the monsters from the spell book to the costumes An had made for the Ans and Kankers was uncanny. An frowned, "Hey! They copied off me!" she stated, her arms crossed and angry that the person who wrote this book stole her ideas.

"Is there other way, Karen?" Nate asked, his voice a bit deeper and his vocabulary now much smaller. Karen winced as another zombie broke through the glass, only for Nate to toss him out and look at her, "We keep them out, you see if there is other way to save us." Karen nodded and looked through the book frantically, but no luck, the only way to fix it was to sacrifice the six who she and the nerds had set out to hurt in the first place. Karen wished she could go back in time and convince those dorks to just get over it and made sure that they didn't go through with it.

'_Karen, there is no other way, is there?_' Double-N asked her, her voice calm. Karen's eyes welled up with tears, but she said nothing.

'_Karen, does the book specify how much of our blood you need?_' she asked. Karen looked up at her a moment, horrified, "You can't be serious!" she whispered, then shook her head vigorously, "NO! I'm not going to sacrifice you six to fix my mistake!"

'_While I'm flattered that you care so much for us, I'm wondering if you need to be all that concerned, because, if the book doesn't specify how much you need, we could only each need to sacrifice a single drop to save everyone here, and I think we could all endure that.'_ Double-N replied. Karen stared at her for a second, then said, "okay, but if it's too much, I'm finding something else!" she said, then began flipping through the pages wildly, jumping at the sound of broken glass and her friends' cries as they fought them off tooth and nail and actually skipping the page she was looking for twice.

'_You need to stay calm, Karen_.' Karen scowled at the hovering girl, "HOW CAN I BE CALM?" she demanded, tears of frustration streaming down her face "BECAUSE I WAS SO FUCKING ANGRY AT YOU SIX FOR SOMETHING THAT WASN'T EVEN YOUR FAULT, I LET THIS HAPPEN!" she quickly wiped her face with the back of her sleeve and tried to stop herself from breaking down while her friends were trying to keep her from being zombie food. Anny, Patrick and the Kanker Brothers burst back into the room, "We can't keep these guys back much longer!" Anny cried. "We blocked the door and windows but that won't hold out for very long!"

"What you do to zombies got in?" Nate asked as he punched another zombie who was trying to enter in the face and sent it flying back out.

"Locked them in the janitor's closet." Anny said plainly, "We used a broom to trap 'um but it won't last long."

"Holy shit!" Tee cried, noticing all the zombies that were climbing in through the windows.

"Karen!" Nate cried, "You find better way?"

Karen was staring at the book and let out a deep breath, "Just keep them back until I finish the ceremony.

"Ceremony?" he repeated, his eyes widening.

"Yeah, I need to draw a circle first!" she shouted, then looked up at Double-N, "Where can I find some chalk and candles?"

'_The librarian's desk, of course._' Double-N replied, as if it was obvious. A drawer opened on it's own and a box of chalk and a few old birthday candles as well as a lighter floated over to her.

"Thanks, Double-N." Karen said, then looked at Jenny, "I'm gonna have lit candles here, it'd be best if you stayed back." She warned, not wanting her photosynthesizing friend to accidently get set on fire by getting too close.

"Okay, I'll help keep the zombies back." She said, "I'm made of plants, so I don't think it'll even matter if I get bitten."

"It's still living." Patrick said, punching another zombie away, "the zombie virus can still effect you, so don't let yourself get bitten if you can help it." he said sternly. Jenny smiled and kissed her boyfriend, who blushed and began fighting with more vigor, bashing zombies alongside Jenny, Nate, Anny and An.

Karen then looked at Double-N, who silently hovered in the moonlit room, "You mind helping me with this?"

'_I'm afraid that I have my hands full, metaphorically speaking, with the zombies who are trying to invade through the vents, they've become more plentiful as of late. I'm afraid you'll have to do the ritual on your own._' Karen frowned at that, then shook her head, she had been relying on Double-N too much to help her correct her mistakes since Rachel had been turned into a pumpkin. She then wondered how the Daughter of a Shepherd was doing back in the gym. She hoped she was okay, despite what Jenny had said earlier about zombies preferring brains over pumpkin, Patrick had a point, it was still_ alive_, sort of, and that meant she was still in danger if she wasn't mushed up pumpkin in a zombie's stomach right now.

"Hurry up, Karen!" Larie cried, as the three brothers bounded through the large library, knocking over bookshelves and using them to block the windows and take out the zombies had entered the room.

Karen shook her head, she didn't have time to worry about her, even though Rachel's problem was serious, theirs was just as dire, she began drawing the circle into the carpet, her hand shaking as the chalk barely made a mark. She looked up at the hovering mummy girl then took a deep breath, Double-N had been right, she needed to be calm, which was difficult to do, but everyone was counting on her to do this right and she couldn't let them down. She continued to draw, her hand not shaking as much as she make sure it was clearly visible, glancing back at the book for reference.

Larie sliced at a zombie that was getting a little too close to his girlfriend and Karen's stupid circle. Larie growled at the undead jerks wondering if any of the ones attacking them now had also helped set this whole thing up. Ann had explained to him, Anny, and An that the nerds he had beaten fair and square in a battle of wits had set up those buckets with Karen's help, and while he wanted to slit her throat, which he could do pretty fucking easily with his new zombie gunk covered claws, it wasn't her idea and she was gonna help them all turn back, so slashing her with zombie gunk on his claws would just make things worse. Still, Larie had never felt so angry in his life. This was the first party he and Ann had came to as a couple and, for the first few minutes of it, they'd had a blast! Until these… these… Larie furiously flipped through every bad word and insult he knew and still couldn't come up with anything bad enough to call the zombie dorks who had started all of this! He had worked _so __**fucking**__ hard_to get Ann as his girlfriend and the _**FUCK**_ he was going to let these zombies touch her. He felt his rage grow as he savagely sliced, bashed, crushed, slammed and beat down the zombies that were starting to surround Ann, probably targeting her because of her large brain that had only gotten bigger in her own transformation.

A few more hopped towards him, realizing that if they took him out, it would be easier to get to Double-N, their mouths open wide, ready to knaw on him, Larie roared and his shaggy blue hair suddenly spiked out, stabbing the zombies and sending them backwards and away from them.

"Whoa!" Jay cried, impressed.

"Larie! How did you do that?" Tee asked as a few zombies dragged themselves towards him, Anny, Patrick and Jay.

"I GOT REALLY FUCKING PISSED OFF!" he shouted back, angrier then either of his brothers had ever seen before, as he beat a few more away from Double-N then swatted away some more that tried to reach Karen, who was finishing up her chalk circle by drawing strange symbols inside, sweat dripping down the sides of her face as she worked.

Tee let his rage and frustration at their situation consume his body and felt his red curls whip out and strike the zombies closest to their group away, he smirked, his fangs glistening in the now bright moon light, "Now we're talking." He purred then began running in a circle around their little group, whipping the zombies and forcing them back.

Jay saw a zombie behind An, opening it's mouth right behind her head, he slammed into it, his fury flooding through his body, making his long blonde hair extend out on his sides like blades, chopping it in half and sending it flying away from his girlfriend.

"LEAVE MY GIRLFRIEND ALONE!" he shouted, slicing through zombies and shouting for them to leave An alone.

Anny and An looked at one another, then Anny made a frustrated face, sending a beam of light from her eyes and blasting a few zombies into some bookshelves.

"Fuck yeah." Anny cheered, then unleashed her wrath upon the rotting creatures with her sword, strength and the lasers she was shooting from her eyes. An made a frustrated face, then pouted, she tried again, but still, nothing, she pouted harder, frustrated as her special ability hadn't shown itself yet. She kept doing it for a few more minutes when a zombie patted her on the shoulder, annoyed that she had ignored her and roared in her face for making it wait for her to notice it. An scowled then roared back louder, three snake-like heads slipping out of her mouths, their teeth similar to her own, opened their mouths and released what looked like pre-chewed Chunky puffs and send it into the wall where it was stuck. The little things slipped back into An's mouth, where she then continued to pout, wondering what her special power was for a few seconds then stiffening when she realized what had just happened. She turned and stared at the zombie who was now stuck to the wall then smiled and opened her mouth, letting the little things out and letting them and shooting zombies and making them stick to the walls, the shelves, the little furniture she hadn't flung out of the library to keep the zombies out, each other… Not noticing how the others were starting to tire faster when they used these new abilities until

Double-N began to sink to the ground, Larie dashed over so she'd land on his back.

'I can't hold them up much longer…' she told them, her voice was soft and distant as zombies began sinking from the open vent above them, banging sounds from more zombies hitting the other vents in the library echoed through the room.

"Holy fuck how many…" but Anny's voice quickly melted back into the funny language again. The others looked at each other, panicked, this was bad, without Double-N to translate for them, they couldn't communicate with one another anymore. And with all the zombies coming from_ everywhere_, they needed to be able to communicate in a language they could all understand to keep themselves from turning into zombies monsters. Karen finished with all the candles and called for them all in a language they couldn't understand, but they all walked over anyway, each one taking a place around the circle where random numbers and festive candles surrounded it, she patted Anny's shoulder, when Anny looked down at Karen, she pointed at Anny's sword then herself. Anny gave her a funny look then scooped up a locker from earlier and handed her the sword, then, almost lazily whacked the zombies away from them, looking tired. They all looked tired, Jenny was turning a little brown as she flung oranges at them, the fruits growing into small saplings and knocking the zombies back, Patrick had a bunch of sand by his feet from the constant friction and all of the zombie bites (it didn't effect him since he was made of stone), Nate pounded zombies away, since he was the last one to transform, he had a little more energy then the others, but he was beginning to tire. An roared vividly, whacking them away with her tentacles, shooting sticking gunk, but she was obviously tired. The Kanker brothers swatted at them, but they were much slower then before and their paws had less power then earlier, Tee's tongue was lolling out as he bashed another undead classmate away. Jay's tail was hanging between his legs, scared as he smacked another. Larie had it the worst, he couldn't do his spiky hair thing with his girlfriend wheezing on his back, he could hardly fight and keep her safe at the same time, but he was doing okay for now, but Karen doubted it would last.

It was now or never.

Karen poked Anny with her own sword, getting a little of what like a glowing liquid ruby on it, causing Anny to cry out with pain and made Double-N convulse, allowing her to send the zombies back a bit with her mind before collapsing back onto her boyfriend's back. Anny glared back at Karen and shouted at her in her own funny language again, most likely swearing at her for jabbing her with her own sword.

"What you doing?" Nate asked, punching a zombie away from their group. Karen said nothing, but pounded the tip of the sword into the circle, making the symbol she had drawn on the ground brighten on the carpet as the liquid ruby vanished off the tip. She then poked Tee in the back of a hind leg with it, making him roar and the zombies jerk back as Double-N convulsed, Karen pulled the sword back, deep purple blood dripping on the tip, she put the tip on the ground again, the symbol beginning to glow bright in a light shade of blue. She cut Jay a little, then Larie, sacrificing their blood to the symbol on the ground, which grew brighter with each blood sample that vanished off the sword, the zombies being pushed back a little each time while Double-N convulsed on Larie's back. Karen then jabbed An, who roared, a few more zombies were jerked back and three were launched into a bookshelf, covered in a sticky fluid from An's extra mouths. The bright green slime glistened in the moonlight as she then stabbed the ground again, looking tired as the symbol then began to rise off the ground. Karen then looked at Double-N, who was lying motionless on Larie's back. She carefully sliced into her hand, surprised when black goop slowly slipped out. She then took the sword, which had a little goop on it, and walked backwards so the goop would touch the floating blue symbol. Once it did the Ans and Kankers all cried out in tremendous pain, so much so that Double-N suddenly was able to unleash an electrical pulse from her bandaged body and use it to push the zombies away from their group before the six of them collapsed to the ground, screaming and writhing in pain. Then the others in their group felt searing pain explode through their bodies and they collapsed as well.

Karen was sweating and screaming as she noticed that the zombies were all crying out as well, falling to the floor and shaking before she passed out from the pain.

.

.

.

Anny woke up, her body aching, she rubbed her eyes and looked around, she was in the library, she winced as she pulled herself up into a seated position and closed her eyes, trying to remember the last thing that had happened to her…

She quickly opened them when her memories flooded back to her, her eyes wide with panic. She glanced around frantically, trying to locate the others as well as checking for zombies, then she saw Tee besides her.

She froze, staring at him, was he back to normal? Or was he still a giant furry alien cat?

'Only one way to find out.' She thought. Anny pulled herself over to him until she was inches from him, then she reached out, her hand shaking as she gently grabbed where she knew the head connected, took a deep breath… then yanked it off his head, which fell towards the ground until Anny caught it, a relieved smile growing on her face at the sight of it.

'We're back to normal…' she thought, tears of joy slipping down her cheeks, 'we're ourselves again.' She felt such joy, such happiness, she felt as if she wanted to kiss somebody, she slowly looked down at Tee, who was still out cold, contemplating…

Should she…?

She bit her lip as she stared down at him.

Did she… _like_ Tee as more then a friend?

She wasn't really sure, she had _just_ gotten used to being friends with him… Could it be that Anny had a crush on Tee?

Anny debated with herself as to what to do for a moment, then sighed, "The heck with it." she grumbled, then kissed him on the lips, only to feel him kiss back. She jumped and scuttled backwards away from him like a crab on her hands and feet, "The FUCK!" she cried, covering her mouth, her face bright red and her heart pounding like crazy.

"Hiya Anny." Tee said, rolling on his belly, smirking triumphantly at her.

"YOU WERE AWAKE THE WHOLE FUCKING TIME?" she demanded angrily.

"Not until you took the head off my costume." He said, crawling over so he could sit in front of her. "Didn't know you cared enough to give me CPR." He said, his smirk growing bigger on his face, "Not that I needed it."

Anny's eyes widened at that, he thought she had been trying to give him CPR, not that she had kissed him because she maybe, sort of, kind of… liked him? "Well, yeah." She said, her face still red as she rubbed the back of her head, "After all the crap we went through to avoid becoming zombie chow, it'd suck if you'd died." She fibbed, "And I couldn't tell if you were breathing under all that fur, so… yeah…" she then crossed her arms over her chest and pouted at him, "You could've let me know you were okay." She snapped, putting him on the defensive so she could have a few seconds so her heart could stop beating so damn fast.

Tee pretended to wince, "Sorry," he said, giving her an apologetic smile, "Old habits die hard." She scowled at him, her face still red. Tee knew that she hadn't put her lips on his because she was trying to give him CPR, he just said that so if she wasn't willing to admit that _she tried to kiss him while she thought he was knocked out_, she could have an excuse as to _why she __**did**_ kiss him.

An idea struck him, making him smile, only to quickly put on a sheepish face and say, "Want me to make it up to 'ya?" he asked, doing his best to keep his lips from curling back up into a big smile. She turned to him, her eyebrows arched, intrigued. "How?" Anny asked, still pouting with her arms crossed, her face was now as pink as her hair.

"Uh…" Shit. He hadn't thought of _how_ he was going to make it up to her, just that he could use it to get a date with her. He bit his lip, "Um…"

"How about this..." Anny said, not looking at him as her face turned red again, "my mom's been bugging me to invite you over for dinner… some shit about wanting to know about the classes I help you with are going and about the little girls and the dances we're teaching them and shit…" Tee's heart raced, but he kept a nonchalant expression on his face, trying to play it cool, "If you do that, we're even." Anny finished.

"Okay." He said, "When?"

Anny opened her mouth to answer only for An to get up, look around, then spot them, "Hey Anny?" An asked as Jay groaned and pulled himself up off the ground, both still wearing their masks, "Where are we?"

"The Library, An." Anny said, stating the obvious.

"Oh…" she said, then removed her mask, "Anny?"

"Yeah An?"

"Why are we in the library?"

"Because we were running away from zombies, An, remember?"

An's eyes widened, "So that was real?" Jay removed his mask, his face red and sweaty. He wiped beads of sweat off his face before saying, "Yeah, An. It was all real."

"Even the part about you having a tattoo on your back with my name on it?" she asked.

"Uh…" Jay glanced back at Tee and Anny, who both shook their heads vigorously and mouthed, 'NO!'

"Uh, everything except that part." Jay said. An looked relieved, "Phew." She said, wiping away some imaginary sweat, "Good. That would've been scary."

"We fight off an army of zombies and a little tattoo scares ya?" Anny teased.

"Yeah!" An said, "We've only been dating for a few months." Jay nodded, trying not to give anything away, "So when would be a good time to get a tattoo?" he asked, gauging how long he'd have to hide it from her before he'd have to explain that he actually had one.

Again.

She thought about it and said, "I'd rather you not get a tattoo at all, they look like they hurt." She said, then patted his chest, "I wouldn't want you to get hurt." She said, then gave him a big smile and an even bigger hug, making his face break out into a big, goofy smile.

Double-N woke up too, struggling to move the bandages off of her eyes so she could see, but was having a hard time doing so, when she finally managed to get the cursed things off, she looked around at the others, who were fine, then down at her boyfriend, who wasn't moving nor did it look like he was breathing, her face paled with panic, "Larie?" she cried, shaking him. But Larie didn't move, she called for him a few more times, trying to get him to stir.

Nothing.

She finally grabbed the head of his costume and pulled it off to see Larie's sweaty head, he looked exhausted but he brightened at the sight of her, "Hey Muff-" Double-N quickly pulled his head to hers and gave him a big kiss, much to his, as well as everyone else's, surprise, but he quickly rolled with it, holding her tight and kissing her back. She pulled away, tears running down her cheeks and a scowl on her face, "DON'T YOU _EVER_ SCARE ME LIKE THAT _EVER AGAIN_, LARIE KANKER!" she cried, banging her fists against his chest, "DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME? _NEVER AGAIN!_" Larie nodded, finding her angry outburst to be a pleasant indication that she worried about him as well as a bit of a turn on, but deciding against telling her either of those things. Double-N's lip quivered and she pulled him into a tight hug burying her head into his furry neck, Larie sat up and held his sobbing girlfriend, "I'm sorry, Ann," he whispered into her ear, his voice soft and his tone gentle, "I didn't mean to scare you." He said soothingly, she merely hugged him tighter and continued to cry into his costume. He kissed her head and continued to coo comforts as well as apologies to her as she clung to him for comfort, tears still streaming down her cheeks.

Anny smiled, grateful that Double-N finally let out all the stress and fear she had been holding onto ever since Larie had turned into a monster, even someone as sensible as her could be scared out of their wits considering their situation, but she had to be the voice of reason because, well, she was usually _always _the voice of reason. She was also the only one who truely knew how _scared they all were_ and knew she needed to step up. Tee nudged her and pointed towards An and Jay, Anny looked over at them and froze. "Uh… An? Jay?"

Double-N and Larie looked over to them, their eyes widening with surprise.

The book was hovering in front of An and Jay, suddenly a voice echoed in their heads, they couldn't identify it as male or female, young or old, it was emotionless but not cold:

'_Thank you for your aid, _

_But I'm afraid that this nightmare had not ended. _

_For on Halloween night of your sons' seventeenth year,_

_The blood that saved you will be resurrected._

_Prepare for that day, _

_But until then, have a Happy Halloween.'_

The Kankers looked at one another, their eyes wide, their _sons_ were going to have to deal with this crap too? The Ans looked confused about the parts about 'their sons', but they also concerned, they became even more concerned as they watched the book vanish into thin air, An knocked over a candle in surprise and burned an old magazine into ash as Karen, Nate, Jenny and Patrick all groaned (okay, Patrick made a face that looked as if he would groan if he could), and got up, rubbing their sore bodies and their temples.

"What happened?" Jenny asked, her skin back to it's original color.

"Uh…" the Ans and Kankers looked at each other, not sure what to tell them.

"Did we win?" Nate asked, back to normal as well.

"Yeah." An said. Jay nodded, "We're all back to normal."

"Where's the book?" Karen asked, her skin was back to normal but the hair that had grown back during her transformation stayed behind for some odd reason.

"It got burned by one of the candles." Tee lied, indicating the ashes of the magazine, "It's been destroyed." The others sighed in relief. "But I've got a feeling it's not over." He said. The others stiffened, then slowly nodded in agreement, although they hadn't heard the magic book's warning, they felt wary of what was to come after their little night of terror.

"We should go check on Rachel." Karen said, "Then we'll come up with a back up plan in case something like this ever happens again." The teens all nodded in agreement.

.

.

.

_After we checked on Rachel and the others, we explained the basics of what happened, we left out the talking spell book and the blood sacrifice thing, and surprisingly enough, everyone believed us. We all then went home or grabbed our spare clothes from our gym lockers and changed, then came back to burn our costumes. But, as I said before, we burned a few bags of leaves in their place._

After An places the box onto the ground, Rachel puts her pumpkin costume on top of it before the boys bury it. The girls look down at the hole, their faces grave, except for Rachel, who holds her head up bravely, "Whenever this dark magic shall strike, we shall be ready, yes?" she asks the girls. They nod.

"I wrote down everything I remembered about the ritual." Karen said, "Word for word, then I drew what the circle was supposed to look like and where they needed to put the candles."

"An donated her sketch book with her monster designs and we put down all the abilities of the aliens and monsters we had become as well as how to activate them." Double-N added, her voice soft. Not telling them that they also had written down what the book had told them in their notes. The part about 'their sons' still bothered her, did they mean the six of them would… She flushed and shook her head, pushing the thought aside as she watched the hole fill with dirt, the hole now half-filled in.

"Yeah." Anny said, "We hid them in the third step from An's basement floor, it was busted anyway, so we put the stuff inside and fixed it, unless ya know about it, you'll never know it was there." She too, wondered about the part about 'their sons' but didn't try to think too hard about it, her feelings were confusing enough, she didn't need that stupid talking book to make them more muddled.

An looked at the nearly-filled hole, a little heart broken, "That was my favorite costume, guys." She said sadly.

Double-N patted her shoulder, "You know An, to be honest, I was a little uncomfortable when you first told me that my costume was only bandages, but now," she smiled at her, "I'm grateful for the costume that allowed me to help protect my friends, so thank you for making me that costume, An. I hope you can do it again for me next year." An's face lit up, "Really?" Double-N nodded and ruffled her hair, "Really."

"Hey, don't forget mine either, Lumpy." Anny said with a devious grin, "After that costume helped me kick zombie ass all night, I'm excited to see what you've got in store for me next year." An was bouncing up and down, excited, she leaned over to call down to the Kankers and ask if they wanted her to make their costumes for next year as well, then became sad again.

"It stinks that I didn't get to show off the costume you guys made me though." An said, looking at her best friends, "That's why it's my favorite, because we made it together, and it's so cool and we made it just for me." Her eyes began to well up with tears, "And now it's gone."

Double-N and Anny hugged her tight. "We'll make your costume together next year." They said in unison. An smiled and pulled the other girls into a hug, Jenny and Rachel smiled, Karen was uncomfortable at first, then her face melted into a smile.

Jenny patted An's shoulder, "We can make you a new favorite costume for next year An, only we'll throw the party at my house, where there will be no zombies allowed! In fact, you'll be in charge of everyone's costumes, okay?" An smiled at her, then let go of the girls as the boys finished filling in the hole and the eleven teens looked out onto the horizon as the sun blossomed over the golden tree line.

"It's hard to believe that something so beautiful could exist after all the horrors we went through last night." Nate said softly as the eleven teens huddled close together. Pat tapped on Jenny's shoulder, then she said, "Pat wants to know if we'll be ready for next time."

"We will." Jay said, wrapping his arms around An in a protective hug.

"Whenever it comes…" Tee began, slipping his hand into Anny's.

"… We will be ready to kick ass." Larie finished, putting his arm around Double-N's shoulders and pulling her close.

"So bring it on." Jay challenged the sky as it burst into bright, warm colors that curled up the clouds and sent the darkness of the night before fading into the past.

.

.

.

_We dropped everyone else off at home in the girl's van. They said that they'd see us later in the day (after they got some well earned-rest) and help us fix our truck then take the van back to the cul-de-sac. _

_Nate barely managed to make it to his house without falling asleep, he was so tired, but he still was able to walk to his front door, open it with his key and flop inside the house before kicking the door shut._

_We dropped Jenny and Patrick at Jenny's house, since Pat was staying the night in her family's guest room and Jenny told us that he said that he wouldn't feel comfortable leaving her alone after what had happened last night._

_We dropped our girls off at their homes, each of us getting a good night kiss (or I guess in this case it was a 'good morning kiss' since the sun was up.) except for Tee, but Anny told him she'd let him know when her mom expected him over for dinner so that was just as good for him._

_We brought Karen home last. _

_We needed to talk to her about something that we knew only she had the answers too._

.

.

.

Karen looked at the Kankers as the van pulled up to her home.

"Uh, thanks for the ride." She said, obviously uncomfortable, "See you around." She said, then reached for the handle, only for the brothers to stop her.

"We have to talk, Karen." Tee said gravely. Her throat began to close up, her heart pounded with panic, tears began to glaze her eyes.

"I'M SORRY OKAY?" she cried, wiping at her face, "I KNOW I FUCKED UP BY JOINING UP WITH THOSE JERKS, BUT…"

"Whoa, whoa!" Jay cried, putting his hands up, "That's not what we want to talk about…"

"Not now anyway…" Larie growled. His brothers glared at him, "What? I said not now!" he said indigently, folding his arms.

"So what did you want to know?" Karen asked, curious but concerned.

"You said you were beat up by our future kids, right?" Tee asked. Karen made a face, "If you're just going to make fun of me…"

"We're _not_." Larie said.

"We want to know about them." Jay explained. Tears began to stream down her face as a relieved smile crawled up her cheeks, "You believe me?" she asked, grateful that the brothers believed that she had met their future children.

"Yeah." Tee said, "Of course we do. Remember what I told ya before it happened? That we saw the Ans as the future mothers of our children?" Karen wiped her face, looking pensive, then nodded, remembering the comment, then stared at them, curious, "Why do you want to know?" she asked.

"Because we have a feeling our kids will be the ones in danger next time." Larie said plainly.

"And since you're the only one who knows about 'um, well, we figured you'd be the best person to ask." Jay elaborated. Karen absorbed the information, then nodded, "Come in, there are some things you'll need to see." She said. The four of them then walked out of the van, locked it and walked inside, she told them to wait at her kitchen table while she got something from her room, she returned with a shoebox. "My parents are gone for the weekend." Karen explained, "So I don't have to worry about them seeing this stuff." She said, then she opened the box, revealing the contents to be different renditions of kids that looked_ very_ familiar.

She pointed to a picture of two kids, a girl with red hair and glasses and a boy with blonde hair in the same style he had when they had first moved to Peach Creek, both had buck teeth.

"These are Jay and An's kids, April and Sheldon." She said, pointing to each one, "April is the oldest out of all ten of them." The boys looked taken aback, "Ten?"

Karen nodded, "Jay has two, Tee has three and Larie has five, I only met nine of them, apparently the youngest was still a baby, not even a year old yet." She explained as she handed the paper to him, Jay took it with shaking hands as he gazed at the two kids in the picture, the girl looked a lot like him and the boy resembled An, he smiled at the picture and read their full names on the paper.

Karen looked at Tee and handed him a picture of three kids, a short boy with curly red hair with two tall girls with long pink hair, all of them had his eyes, Anny's smirk and a blue tooth, "Tee and Anny's oldest kid is Andy, he seems to be the leader of the bunch. The girls are Mia and Tia, don't ask me which is which cause I don't know that, all I know is that they're younger then Andy." She said. Tee looked at the names of the kids, smiling. Andy sounded like his and Anny's names combined and Mia and Tia sounded like 'Me and Tee'. (Author's note: yeah, that's how I came up with their names.)

Finally she handed Larie a sheet of paper with four kids on it, each with blue hair and gaps between their teeth, there was a tall one in the back middle, he had a hat like Double-N wore, then there were two shorter boys, twins, smirking deviously, then there was a little girl with a speech bubble with the words 'I'm Spider Girl' coming out of it. Larie looked at the speech bubble then opened his mouth to ask, but Karen cut him off with, "That's all she says. Or at least all she said to me." She then pointed to the tall one in the back, "That's Allbert, with two Ls, then there is Larry and Terry and the little girl is Mildred. You have a baby named Emma too, but she wasn't there, for obvious reasons." Two Ls… Larie cracked up, his oldest son was Double-L! (Author's note: Yeah, it wasn't a typo, I did that so it would be like that. Man, I come up with original names.) She then pulled out a picture for all three of them to look at, "I came down that night and found your sons standing in my kitchen waiting for me." She said, pointing to the picture of the three boys smiling at the viewer with devious gleams in their eyes.

'_For on Halloween night of your sons' seventeenth year,_ _the blood that saved you will be resurrected.'_ The book had said, the boys looked down at the picture and bit their lips as the words echoed through their minds.

.

.

.

They thanked Karen for the information, and asked if they could keep the drawings. She agreed and thanked them for believing her. The Kanker brothers then drove home in silence, exhausted from the night and the information they had received that morning. They stopped at their trailer, parked the van, climbed upstairs to their room, put the drawings into the album with the note and climbed into bed.

"Do you think our sons will be alright?" Jay asked, finally breaking the silence.

"Of course." Larie said, sounding unsure, "We put everything they needed to know in the step at An's house. And that book said it would come back to help them…" he stopped, realizing how crazy he sounded.

"Those boys will be a mix of Kanker blood and the Ans' DNA, they'll be fine." Tee said, curling onto his side to hide his anxious face from his brothers.

Right before the boys all succumbed to the exhaustion they had endured from the past twenty four hours, they all prayed that their future families would get out of whatever hell awaited them in one piece.

.

.

.

Epilogue

.

.

.

Andy, Allbert and Sheldon are in the middle of the high school gym for a Halloween party, where they're in the middle of a dance off against three girls, the boys are moonwalking side by side in unison while half of the gym is chanting, "KANKER! KANKER! KANKER!" They do a few break dance moves then a big finish of Andy spinning on his head while his cousins somersault over him and slide on either side of him with style, then Sheldon and Allbert help Andy up and the three cousins smirk at the girls.

Allbert sticks out his tongue, revealing that he, like his father, has a silver stud in his tongue, he slips it so the stud is _just_ below the gap in his two front teeth. He had grown his shaggy blue hair out (since he had inherited his mother's indestructible hair and couldn't really cut it anyway) so it was now half way down his back, he had it pulled back into the ponytail low on his head. He was dressed as a cyborg, with metal plates lit up with blue lights are covering patches of his body, including his left eye.

Andy leans forward puts his hand behind his ear, where he, like his father, has a bar earring, only unlike his father, he only has one and it's gold, like his mother's earrings. He, like his mother, had undergone a _huge_ growth spurt and was now the tallest of the trio. He was dressed as a monster hunter, wearing all dark clothes, he also pushes his curly red hair out of his eyes, making girls melt at the sight of them.

Sheldon uses his right thumb to lift up his nose and expose whatever's inside them to the girls, thinking he was showing them the other side of the silver ring he has in his nose. Like Allbert, Sheldon had grown his long blonde hair out as well, and also had it pulled back into a ponytail, he also wore gray rimmed glasses for the lazy eye that he had inherited from his mother. He was dressed up as a Viking and held his fake axe over his shoulder.

Then each of the boys rise their left arms, then urge the girls to out do them by wiggling their fingers towards them, yet the smirks on their faces saying that the girls had no chance of defeating them. The challenge making the crowd go "OOOH!"

"You're going to lose, Andy!" the girl in the middle snapped, she had long curly brown hair and her arms were folded as she glared at him, her face a little flushed because of his eyes but she was too proud to let him know that he had gotten to her. She wore what looked like an elegant ball gown and an eye mask that you'd see at a masquerade ball.

"What was that, Maddie?" Andy asked, "Did you just say that _I _was gonna lose to_ you_ in _dancing_? Ha!" He said, starting to laugh.

"My _name_ is _Madeline_." She snapped.

"Whatever you say, Maddie." Andy said, crossing his arms and looking triumphant.

"Indeed, I am quite looking forward to how you three plan to trump our performance." Allbert said coolly.

"Just watch us, Allbert." A girl with silver hair purred. Her hair was long and pulled back into a silver braid, she was dressed as an elfin archer, with a bow and quiver strapped to her back, her clothes clung tightly to her body, showing off her hourglass figure. She walked over and gently rubbed the bottom of his chin with her finger, Allbert smiled for a second, then licked his lips, his silver stud flashing in the dim lighting as a devious glimmer shined in his eyes and that made her stop rubbing his chin, her face suddenly nervous. He quickly flushed and yanked his head back, "A-alright, Matilda, I-I'm l-looking f-forward to it." He stuttered.

"Good luck Maggie!" Sheldon said with a wave to the last girl. She smiled and waved back. She had mid-length black hair that stopped at her shoulders, it was straight until it reached her chin, then puffed up in a tight curl at the bottom of her hair. She wore a pirate costume, which included an eye patch. She smiled at Sheldon warmly, "Thank you, Sheldon, but I don't think we'll need it." she said sweetly.

The girls begin their dance, not knowing that outside the school, on a hill, is a cloaked figure, the figure's eyes and nose are hidden in the shadows of the hood of its cloak and the night, leaving only a dark smile to be seen on it's face as it grips an old, baby's breath blue book in it's gnarled hands.

"It is time." The figure says, dark glee prominent in his voice, then vanishes out of sight, the school dark except for the flashing lights in the gym, which suddenly grow dark as a evil laugh echoes through the air.

"Is this part of the dance?" Sheldon asks.

TO BE CONTINUED…

OR WILL IT?

(Author's note: Probably)

{Author's end notes: Holy insert swear word here this took me a while. Sorry for the wait but, first of all I wanted to put it up near Halloween and I started this late last month, second of all, I wrote four converted episodes on the side.

FYI, I based the Ans and Kankers' costumes off of Vampire Meekrat's Alien version of Ed, Edd n' Eddy, so if you want to check them out, here you go: art/Kret-Kret-n-Kr-Y-Cast-171176661

Also I don't plan to end each episode with an epilogue with their kids, I plan to give Andy, Allbert and Sheldon their own little spin off after I'm done with their parent's high school years and after a few more converted episodes. This was a special case since I plan to do a Halloween special for them as well (probably do it next year so you'll have something to look forward sto, you have any questions, just let me know.)


End file.
